All That Glitters
by Samwise Baggins
Summary: Paying a debt to a monster changes Honoria's safe world forever. Islinne 10P
1. The Debt

Title: The Debt

Authors: Sam & Mel

Story: All That Glitters: 01 of ?

Series: Islinne Weyr

Characters: Moreece, Honoria, Yonda, -unnamed apprentice-, Aurum, Sharisa, Jadon, Larass, Vilmer, Prosel, S'varas, Chyp, Haukaye, H'ratio, (regina), (Sahdarba), (Corsit), (Lysterr), (Rymmer), (Katt), (Haylee?), (Krityn?), Honourum, -rider guard-

Rating: T: Abuse, Sexual Situation: Nothing graphic or explicit

Summary: Paying a debt to a monster changes Honoria's safe world forever.

Setting: AU 10th pass: Ista Hold, Weaver Hall, and Botany Bay Weyr

Spoiler: Not really, no, unless you are unfamiliar with anything basic in the Dragonriders.

Category: Drama, Romance

Disclaimer: _"Dragonriders of Pern (R)"_ is a registered trademark to Anne McCaffrey 1967(c). All the ensuing titles therein are also trademarks of Anne (and Todd McCaffrey) and _The Worlds of Anne McCaffrey, Ltd_. _"Once Upon a Time"_ is a registered trademark to ABC and Disney. I am in no way connected with these people, and I do not claim ownership to these characters, lands, or names. I have borrowed them to share a story... and most likely not a story either would have written, had they had the time or no. I am making no money from this, and it is just for my entertainment and that of free entertainment to a select group of friends. Thank You.

Note: I have not yet read any of the Todd McCaffrey books in the series, so this is AU, concentrating on a time almost 1000 years after Anne McCaffrey's 9th Pass ends. If this story contradicts any of Mr. McCaffrey's revelations, please forgive me. None of the characters are based on the canon characters, nor are the canon characters ever mentioned.

Second Note: Islinne Weyr was formerly Southern Weyr. For those who wish to know more about the 10th Pass hinted at in this fan-fiction, please contact me.

Distribution: Please ask first?

Feedback: Please? I love comments.

The Debt

3400.01.15: Ista Hold:

Twisting his gnarled hands, cursed with the joint disease of the aged, Moreece paced slowly, painfully across his workshop. He kept glancing at the door, not wanting his beloved daughter to see his worry, but not sure how he would solve the problem he'd gotten himself into. He stopped by his workbench, scattered with buds and ribbons and half-completed arrangements. Among the detritus of his chosen profession, the Journeyman Florist found what he sought: a tiny scroll of paper which had been delivered by a brown firelizard not an hour earlier.

He re-read the missive and worry began to twist into desperation, choking him into a loud sobbing groan. He covered his mouth, trying not draw attention from his Honoria.

Honoria was in the process of making their dinner, a thick stew, when she heard the choked noise behind her. She spun, letting the spoon drop. "Father, what's wrong?" she asked, rushing to his side, fearing that he had injured himself. But all she saw was a tiny piece of paper and her father struggling not to cry.

"Father, what's happened?" she asked again, anxiety rising in her voice. "What's on that paper?" She snatched it from his hands before he could stop her and took a step away so he couldn't reclaim it. It only took her a moment to read it, and by the end her hands were shaking. "Father, is this correct?"

Moreece winced. "Yes?" His voice sounded distraught. "Uh... yes, we owe them quite a... back bill." He hoped she wouldn't guess, would think he'd just been neglecting payments instead. He had tried not to... but now, it didn't matter. "I... I have to find a way to get the marks. He's not a patient man. He's very... firm on the date..."

The old man wanted to cry, but didn't like upsetting his daughter further.

At a loss for words, Honoria sank down into a chair, still staring at the notice. "How can we possibly get this many marks?" she asked, her voice shaking. "He's insane! We could both work with no sleep until his date and we still couldn't possibly..." She raised her hand to her mouth, fighting down the urge to panic. What would happen if they couldn't make the payment? What would that monster do to her father?

Moreece wrung his gnarled hands once more. "He's a man of business. He'll see that I can't afford... oh... but he won't..." He started his painfully slow pacing again. After a turn around the room, he painfully picked up a quill, hand shaking with the effort... it grew harder every day for him to work. "I'll go to the Hall. I'll... I'll offer to work for him to pay the debt. That's a reasonable arrangement..." He started looking around for the ink pot.

Honoria was on her feet and grabbing the quill from him before he'd even finished speaking. "I am not allowing you to go drudge for that horrible man. You aren't well, father." She tossed the quill aside and went to her knees, holding her father's gnarled hands in her own gently. "You've taken care of me for so long, father," she finished softly. "I'll work off the debt."

"But... but..." he shook his head, letting her gentle hands soothe his tired, old ones. "To have you work for such a man? Oh, Ria... you haven't heard what he's capable of, what he'd do. He'll throw you in the kitchens to scrub pots and haul fires and tend canines. You'll be all worn out." His voice was rising in pitch, his anxiety rising with it. Soon, he was gasping with every breath. "He'll... take... away... your... life... your... youth... he's... he's..."

Honoria shook her head firmly. "And I'll do whatever it takes to pay off the debt as fast as possible and come home to you," she told him. When he began to gasp she extracted her hands long enough to rush to the fire and pour a mug of tea, a special brew given to her to ease his breathing. "Drink this father," she said gently, pressing the mug into his hands. "I'm stronger than you think," she assured him when he had the mug. "Don't argue with me on this. I'll be home before you know I'm gone." She gave him her most bolstering smile. "I promise."

Moreece groaned. "I should go. It's my debt."

"I'll work the debt off faster than you could," she told him, not mentioning that, when taking into account the amount and his health, he may not even live long enough to do so. "Would you rather I be gone a turn or go for much longer apart?"

Mouth working, mind reeling, he tried to come up with an argument. He never liked to see his daughter do heavy work; it was bad enough she'd taken over cooking and cleaning for them since his hands had gnarled with the joint ailment. Finally, his shoulders sagged and his whole body seemed to collapse a bit. His voice sounded defeated. "You are right, Ria, of course you are. I could never work off that debt."

He wanted to cry at the futility. Damn his gambling...

Continued in Chapter Two


	2. The Deal is Struck

All That Glitters: 02 of ?

The Deal is Struck: 3400.01.17: Weaver Hall

Honoria clutched her bag to her chest, terrified. Here she was in front of the Weaver Hall, preparing to become a drudge to by all rumors a complete monster. Her heart was in her throat, and even though the traders had stopped their wagon for her to get off she found herself unable to let go of the leather strap sheﾒd used to steady herself.

She couldnﾒt do this. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she turned her body to scramble further into the wagon. Sheﾒd hide behind something large, she thought in a panic, and theyﾒd never notice her. But before she made it more than an inch a hand closed around her wrist.

ﾓCome on, girl,ﾔ the wagon driver said, dragging her out. He made a frustrated noise when she wouldnﾒt let go of her hand hold, and squeezed until she finally had to let go. ﾓWe were hired to bring you here,ﾔ he said gruffly, ﾓand this is where you go.ﾔ He gave her a shove towards the steps up to the Hall and yelled to his second driver. The herdbeasts pulling the wagon kicked up dust around her as they left her, alone.

But then she remembered her father, and his gnarled hands, the pain in his eyes... she had made a decision. Summoning all her courage she strode towards the door and gave it a hard rap.

The door swung open revealing a kitchen woman in apron and cap, hands red and wet from work. Behind her, in a large anteroom with the door swung wide, was an apprentice half in a large vat, scrubbing.

"What, Lady?"

Taken aback by the woman's snippy attitude, Honoria clutched her bag closer. "My name is Honoria, ma'am. Moreece the florist is my father." She held the missive out with unsteady hands. "I'm here to pay back my father's debt."

The kitchen woman looked at Honoria a long time, as if trying to figure her out. Finally, she signaled the apprentice scrubbing dye buckets nearby. "Bring the lady to the master." Her voice held all the authority of rank and all the finality of a death sentence.

The boy looked up and pulled his soapy hands from his rough work. Reaching for a cloth to dry his hands, he eyed Honoria just as curiously as the woman. Once his hands were dry, he asked, "Which master?"

"_The_ Master, fool. And be quick about it. She's on important business, she is." The woman acted as if she knew exactly what the matter concerned.

A paleness crept over the boy's swarthy features and his eyes widened, nostrils flared, and hands began to shake. "Uh... not s'posed to interrupt _him_," he stressed the pronoun.

With a sharp slap to the apprentice's head, the woman growled, "You are if you're told to."

"No, I'm not." He ducked a second blow and took off for the door. "Not worth it to bring her. Find someone stupid, not me." And he disappeared down the hall.

She cursed and turned her scowl on Honoria, as if the strange woman were to blame for the predicament. "Well, I sure as shards ain't going up..." Then, with a nod, she turned completely to the younger woman. "You'll go up yourself and get what you get. Go to the top of the stair, down to the end of the hall, top of the stair, and top of the stair again. Big wood doors with ugly iron all over them... look like should be in a wher kennel or holding back one of them useless dragons." She pointed to the steps. "Go give him your message or bring him your marks or whatever it is you got business here for." She raised one hand. "I don't wanna know. What the master does is none of my affair, and I'm happy not to see him for a sevenday if I can get the pleasure."

She turned back to her laundry tub, dismissing Honoria as if the young woman wasn't even there.

Every word that was spoken made Honoria's heart thud harder, so terrified now that she was afraid she might just turn and run, run until all this was behind her. She didn't even have the breath to thank the woman for her help before the worker was gone. Then she turned her head towards the staircase and steeled herself. This was for her father.

Despite her promise to not be scared, she found herself shaking the closer she got to the top of the stairs and the imposing door there. Once there, she froze again, hand raised and practically gasping. Even his own Hall was scared of him, she thought, and here she was, a florist's daughter with no prospects or craft, about to knock on his door like she had a right to interrupt him.

The large doors were made of solid wood, dark and looming, the iron work almost blending in with the dark wood in the unlit corridor. It was hard to see if there was any pattern or even purpose to the iron... perhaps it was for reinforcement.

She closed her eyes and rapped her knuckles against the door three times.

No noise came from the other side.

Honoria opened her eyes, realizing that there was not going to be an answer. She pushed on the door, just to see, and it swept open easily against her hand.

The room was vast, taking up three-fourths of the uppermost portion of the hall. It was perhaps once a room for a master's tapestry loom. Now, it held an eclectic collection of odds and ends. It was hard to see anything due to the poor lighting, the glows hadn't been changed and there were no visible windows. There was a clear path down the middle, however, which led to a secondary door, behind which the sound of soft humming came.

The humming sound drew her downward, almost putting her in a trance. For a moment she forgot she was standing in the personal quarters of the dreaded Master Aurum. A few things she could make out in the gloom caused her to catch her breath: things she'd only read about in books, things that had supposedly been lost with Landing... what she wouldn't give to just even touch them for a moment.

Before she knew it she was standing at the second door, and she paused. She'd come this far, what did it matter, she thought. She turned the handle and pushed the door open slowly, her heart beating faster again, and stepped through the threshold.

There was plenty of light in the room; large windows with their drapes pulled back were along one wall. It was a small room, perhaps once part of the other one now partitioned off. Towards the back of the room was a draped off area, the drapes thick and heavy and of a dull uncertain color. Behind the door sat a large wheel on a frame of some kind. At one side was a tall frame with a pattern worked on it, but as dull as the curtains were. The pattern was indistinguishable. At the other side was a second large wheel in a frame. But the humming came from next to the door, where the light was best.

A small table sat there with a large bulbous jar, fat in the middle and tapered at the top and bottom, filled with water. On the opposite side of the table from the door sat a small man in a chair, his face distorted by the water in the jar, making fine details stand out in large relief. He had brown hair which hung forward, partially obscuring his face and brown eyes with gold flecks. His skin was pale with a slightly greenish undertone. His clothes were a dull brown, his boots clunky looking and over-large at the bottom; his over-tunic was removed so he wore only a linen shirt with short sleeves with his trousers. Her father would never have appeared before anyone except her in such a state of undress.

But the most remarkable thing was that he seemed to be working with a smooth, tiny, silvery spinner's web... how he could handle one without it breaking was unclear. He seemed to be working it somehow, though.

He also seemed not to have noticed her entrance, intent on his web.

Honoria held her breath, staring at the man at the table in mute amazement. No wonder he was the Master Weaver, she thought. So absorbed in the skill she was witnessing she barely noticed the man himself.

She felt like there was nothing she could say, not wanting to disturb his work but knowing she couldn't just walk back out, Ria stood motionless for a long time. Finally deciding to say something, she cleared her throat softly and murmured as gently as she possibly could, "Master Aurum?"

The humming stopped and he raised his head, blinking to adjust to the new position. Slowly, he put the silvery web onto the table, lay his hands flat on the wooden surface, and rose to his feet. He smiled and in a voice, steady, calm, smooth as warm honey, he asked, ﾓAnd what is your name, mﾒdear?ﾔ

"I'm Moreece's daughter," she said quickly. "Honoria." With a trembling hand she held out the missive once again. "I've come to work off my father's debt, however long that might take. His health if failing and he... he wouldn't be much use here."

She realized she was rambling and turned her gaze away. The silvery web was easily the most noticeable thing aside from him, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw its beauty. She hadn't been able to tell what he'd been doing before, but if that was the outcome... incredible.

With two long fingers, he gently plucked the slip of paper from her hand. Glancing over it quickly, he turned his smile to her once again. There was something akin to a spinner waiting in his web about the Master. ﾓWork? But what work would you do here?ﾔ He gestured casually with one hand, never taking his eyes off her. His voice was amused. ﾓThe hall is fully staffed, mﾒdear.ﾔ

Mouth working wordlessly, Honoria wasn't sure what to say. "But Master Aurum," she said, a bit of desperation sneaking into her voice, "we have no other way to cover the debt. Please... there must be something I can do. I can be a drudge in your kitchens... surely you could use an extra drudge."

He tapped a finger against his mouth. ﾓYou would pay your fatherﾒsﾅﾔ he bowed slightly, arm muscles rippling in his short sleeves, proving weaving was not as plush a job as people might think, ﾓdebt by drudging in a hot kitchen? Hmmmﾅﾔ he started walking away from her and his table. The master had a noticeable limp, his boots revealed as boxy, a bit larger on the right foot than the left. He reached over to his chair and picked up a walking stick, placing it almost negligently as he slowly limped around the table towards the windows. ﾓHowever, mﾒdear, the hall has no need of kitchen drudges. As I said,ﾔ he turned, the light from the windows shining over his shoulders and shadowing his face, ﾓthe hall is fully staffed. They have no need of more staff down there.ﾔ

His voice was still molten honey, not condescending in the leastﾅ like a soft caress.

"But sir, please," she said desperately, following him to the window. "We can't pay this debt... if we worked from now until your deadline with no sleep until our fingers bled we couldn't." She looked around the room. "I can clean, I can cook, just please... my father isn't well!" She was close enough now that she could have grabbed his shirt sleeve, and tears were beginning to fill her eyes. If he didn't take her on as a servant, what would he do to her father?

Aurum stopped, his head cocking slightly, turning a bit towards her. "You clean?" He sounded interested. Turning gracefully, he limped back towards her, stopping directly in front of her. Most men might think him small, but he stood half a foot over her. He locked eyes with her, lifted a hand, and flicked his fingers towards the door. "You would be willing to live here and clean?"

Nodding energetically, Honoria quickly continued, "Yes, yes. I'll be quiet, and I won't get in anyone's way, I swear."

"Oh, a lady shouldn't swear." His voice was suddenly playful, a bit higher pitched than it had been, but not the sound of the hysterical. He grinned at her.

Turning, he limped towards the outer room. "You would be required to clean these rooms and to bring me materials and my meals." He paused, blinking in the sudden gloom of the poorly lit room. "Do you write? Read? Sum?"

She swallowed as he limped past her, her heart fluttering in fear when he was so close. "Yes," she murmured, hands clasped in front of her and head bowed. "The harpers were very pleased with my progress."

He turned to her and the lit room. "Were they?" Turning slowly back to his darkened outer room, he gestured with his hands. "Then you can inventory and catalogue my collection." He paused, as if looking over the objects, though the contrast of light and dark made only a couple of the items closest visible, the rest was indistinct and hidden in the shadows. "No one will come up here."

The master turned once more, looking at her, his eyes large and dark from having peered into darkness. It gave him an unearthly appearance.

Ria nodded, casting a glance around the room. She briefly thought that removing a few of the window curtains and adding a glow basket or five might make things easier, but the thought of suggesting such a thing was almost as terrifying as he was. But still, a part of her wanted to see the items, dust them carefully, examine each one minutely for details... so many treasures, and he didn't even have an inventory of it all?

She raised her eyes to his at his last words, her mouth going a little dry. "I can do that," she said, ashamed at how tiny her voice sounded. "No one is to come up here, though?" she continued tentatively. "Does no one tend to... ," she trailed off. Obviously no one tended to this room.

He smiled. "Oh, I didn't say they weren't allowed up here. I said no one comes up here." He limped to a glow basket and checked it with a frown, his clever fingers coming away dusty. "Looks like we'll need a bit of light. Can't catalogue what can't be seen." He looked at her from next to the glows, the light shadowing his face and showing lines and dark circles under his eyes. He looked tired.

"Oh," Ria said, barely able to get the noise out. Did that mean the others were afraid to come up here? It had to mean that at least some of the rumors were true. "I'll retrieve fresh glows shortly," she murmured, bobbing her head once again. The glowering woman downstairs was nowhere near as frightening as this man. If she did manage to survive, then she didn't think anything would ever frighten her again.

The image went away as he limped back into the well-lit room. "Of course..." his voice trailed. Aurum turned to her and frowned softly, but it made him seem fierce, worthy of the rumors. "The debt will take a while to pay off if you are only cleaning and inventorying."

He rested one hand on the back of his chair; the other still gripped his cane.

His words, return to the dark, and that frown froze the blood in her veins. Once again she began to tremble, not even daring to think what he was suggesting. "I-I'll do everything I can," she stuttered, fighting back sudden tears. "I'll stay as long as it takes, or... ," she couldn't continue.

"Then you'll stay for... oh..." he seemed to do some mental calculations in his head. "Well, all together, for wages offered at today's rates, I would think for cleaning, supplying, and inventorying duties," his eyes met hers, "a turn should about do it." He limped over to her, his limp more noticeable now. "So, is it a bargain?" He offered one long-fingered hand.

An entire turn of her life, she thought, staring at his hand. But then she thought of her father's hands, gnarled and painful, and how this would be a life sentence for him. What was one turn in exchange for her father's life?

"Agreed," she murmured, taking his hand to seal the bargain.

He crossed palms in the traditional gesture of a deal struck. He let out a small chuckle, and dropped his hand back to the chair. "So, I'll let you get settled. Shirisa will get you whatever you need." He started turning towards the draped off section of the room but stopped and looked at her. "If you wish to write to anyone, there are supplies available."

"Thank you, Master Aurum," she murmured in a low tone of voice that she could already tell she was going to adopt around this man. She bobbed her head once more, figuring politeness was her best shield against the next turn. "With your permission, I'll collect supplies from Shirisa and get started."

Continued in Chapter Three


	3. Preparations

All That Glitters: 03 of ?

Preparations: Weaver Hall: 3400.01.17

From the top of the first floor stairs, Ria could hear the laundry woman screaming at an apprentice. It appeared that he had been clumsy and gotten sudsy water all over her feet. Ria stood there for much longer than she should have, trying to decide if what was downstairs was worse than what was upstairs. But she couldn't do any of the chores she'd been assigned without going down...

Finally she came down the stairs fully, sidestepping the sudsy water on the floor. The woman doing the screaming was the same one who had let her in and sent her upstairs. She must be the Shirisa Ria'd been told to find. At least after Master Aurum she didn't seem so frightening. "Excuse me," she said tentatively, "are you Shirisa?"

The woman turned at the stranger's voice and her frown became even more forbidding. ﾓNo." Her tone was crisp. ﾓYou'll find her down that hall there," she waved a work roughened hand. ﾓBut I don't know why you're wanting to be bothering her for. Not like you can pay off yer debt with her." She gave her an appraising look then turned, muttering ﾓhe coulda at least sent for a decent looking whore..."

Her face flushed bright red at the woman's words, and her earlier fear came back. Was that how she was going to be expected to work off the debt? She suppressed a shudder and quickly walked down the hallway that the woman had indicated.

She passed several apprentices and journeymen, but none of them even gave her a second glance. It was like she was invisible. _Or, more likely, they know what I am here for_, she thought miserably. Finally she reached the end of the hallway, with only one door. _It must be Shirisa's office_, she thought.

Steeling herself, she raised her hand and gave two sharp raps against the door.

The sound of a faint voice carried out of the closed room. ﾓMoment..." This was followed by the sound of muffled footsteps. Finally, the door opened to display a very well lit storeroom filled with shelves of cloth of every shade and texture. There were huge spindles of threads. Spare framed wheels and pieces of wood were towards the back, quite visible in the bright lights. The woman must have been using a dozen glows.

Before her stood a tall woman, perhaps 6'0" or even taller. She had the arms of a field worker, someone used to very heavy lifting. Her bright flame hair was pulled back and under a linen scarf and her voluminous apron covered her from neck to ankles, revealing sturdy boots underneath. Her eyes were a bright green, her cheeks were round, and she looked rather like a sweet bun, if it weren't for her massive build and tired features.

When she saw the slip of a thing in front of her, her face lit up with a smile. ﾓOh, I love new apprentices! I'm Shirisa... welcome to the Weaver Hall." She looked her over and scratched her nose. ﾓWell, it's about time someone sponsored you, my dear. Lucky it's the weavers. Most crafts don't like older apprentices..." She slapped her hands on her aproned thighs. ﾓWell, let's find you some gear, right?"

Ria flushed a dark red and ducked her head. ﾓI'm not an apprentice, ma'am," she said, trying to keep the shame out of her voice, ﾓI'm here to pay off my father's debt to Master Aurum. I'm to tend to his chambers and inventory his collections." _Will this one call me a whore, too?_ If the thought entered her head once more she would simply collapse. ﾓI was hoping I could get some fresh glows, and dust rags...ﾓ She trailed off, looking anywhere but at Shirisa. She simply couldn't handle another judgmental look.

The woman laughed. ﾓShirisa, not ma'am. My mother gave me a name, and I intend to use it till I'm dead." She turned and moved into the store room, swiftly shut a huge glowbasket, and came back. ﾓWell, the personal stores would be this way," she gestured with her head back down the hall. ﾓAlong with cleaning supplies and glows and other such necessities." She squeezed past her, grinning at Ria when they collided, and strode down the hallway.

Back out in the main hall, Shirisa's face turned thunderous when she noted the woman yelling at the apprentices. ﾓEnough, Yonda... back to the laundry with you, now. Leave those poor children be."

Apparently, Yonda was afraid of Shirisa because she paled considerably and fairly took off running. Honoria watched the woman flee with wide eyes and an open mouth. How could such a horrible woman be so easily cowed by someone who seemed so friendly?

Shirisa looked at the apprentices. ﾓYou'll clean that up and wash those things in the large dye hall, like you're supposed to. I don't want my hall slopped up again, hear?"

Equally pale and quick, the boys rolled their vats into the adjacent room, one staying behind to mop up the suds and dirty water.

Shirisa turned back to Honoria. ﾓWell, this way, then, lass... and what should I call you. I swear, lass ain't a fit name for a young woman doing her duty for her family. That's honor, that is... won't find many willing to drudge, even for family."

ﾓHonoria," she murmured, taking heart in Shirisa calling her a drudge. Drudges weren't worth enough to be whores. ﾓBut my father has always called me Ria," she offered after a moment, giving the older woman a tentative smile.

The woman nodded. ﾓWell, Honoria means Honor, so I called it again. I'm good at people." She opened a door and gestured at a dark room. ﾓLet me get the glows." Walking into the room, she flipped another large basket in the middle, revealing all the cleaning supplies, and a darkened alcove where the glows were presumably kept. ﾓMaster says we should always have enough light to see by. Our work bleeds the sight from our eyes and the work from our fingers, so we need it." She grinned again. ﾓNot every hall has a master as smart as him. What'd you say about dusting rags? For the Master's rooms? But those rooms should be cleaned daily... his leg can't stand the dirt..."

Ria ran her hands across the supplies, noting what she would need now and what would be required later. Glows were her primary concern... if there was no light to see nothing could be done after all. ﾓHis leg?" she asked, hand pausing over an empty basket to carry what she needed. ﾓI noticed his limp but it was so dark..." she shook her head. ﾓThe rooms are so dusty though. Why haven't they been cleaned in so long?" She immediately blushed and bobbed her head in apology, realizing that she had likely offended the only person that didn't scare her. ﾓI'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

ﾓDark... and dusty?" A thunderous look fell onto the woman's face and she looked as mad as an enraged watchwher. ﾓSo, they've been neglecting the Master have they?" Without warning, the woman stormed out into the hall and over to a bell cord positioned nearby. ﾓI'll teach those lazy..."

Pressing her back against the wall as Shirisa stalked past her, Ria wished she could just disappear into the shelves. ﾓIt's manageable," she managed to stutter. ﾓI can set things to rights within a few days."

Shirisa stopped, hand barely touching the cord, and turned to Ria. Her frown was still in place, and her voice sounded hard. ﾓA few days? It should be cleaned daily... those drudges had no right to neglect the man what puts food in their bellies and keeps us all comfortable through snow and ﾑfall." She straightened, looming over Ria. ﾓﾑCourse," her voice softened, ﾓAin't had ﾑfall in onto a thousand turns have we? But, it's the duty, none the same."

She turned back to the room, walking more calmly, her body relaxing. ﾓWell, no wonder the Master let you work instead of pay. He's a fair one, even if he's..." but she stopped before she could explain what the Master was. ﾓAll right... well, you'll need a place to stay, then, too. Not gonna put you in with those apprentices; the lads and lasses'll torment you to tears ﾑcause of rank. They'll say _you're no better than you should be_ since you come from no marks." She shook her head. ﾓAnd I sure won't put you in with those lazy cow drudges. If you're gonna take care of Master Aurum," her voice softened at the name then went business-like again, ﾓyou'll be nearer your work. Can't have you worn down from running steps while you're dealing with his pretties, can we?"

She began collecting odds and ends and filling her own basket, hastily grabbed. ﾓYou get what you need for supplies, and I'll make sure you get a key to the room..."

It was a lot of information to take in, but Honoria went about filling her basket. ﾓThank you for being so kind to me," she said softly, hooking glows on her free arm.

ﾓKind? Ain't nothing kind about treating a body decent till she proves herself, is there?"

Taking a deep breath, Honoria spun to look at the older woman. ﾓThe.. the other woman," she said, tears welling in her eyes. ﾓShe said I was to be his whore."

Shirisa threw her head back with a loud bark of laughter. ﾓWhore? Him?" She grinned widely at Ria. ﾓWell, if'n it's that kind of care he's wanting, he can take me without pay, he can." Then she stopped laughing and turned a serious face to the girl. ﾓNow, don't you go repeating that, child. There's some would think bad, and that's the evil of the world." She shook her head and reached for a second basket, putting jars and cloth into it. ﾓNo, if you were his whore, he'd have arranged a fine room for you and pretty baubles and sweets. The man may run a tight ship, as my grandda might say, but he'd know how to treat a lady. Knows how to care for his staff, don't he?"

She moved the second basket next to the first.

Her relief was so intense Ria's knees went weak, and she had to lean against a shelf for a moment and hope that Shirisa hadn't noticed. She took several notebooks and a stack of pencils, tossing them into her basket on top of the glows. That one she added next to Shirisa's. ﾓIs there anything I should know about Master Aurum?" she asked.

Shirisa shook her head. ﾓFor inventory, you'll be wanting hide bound papers, Ria. Those are the kind for writing home... oh... well, if'n you want to write home, then go ahead and welcome to them."

ﾓThat makes sense," Ria said, moving to another shelf and getting the hide bound papers. ﾓI've read a lot but the harpers had us write on slates when we were learning." She added those to the basket as well, then looked up at Shirisa. ﾓIs there anything I should know about Master Aurum?" she asked, her eyes and face serious.

With a tilt of her head, the woman looked thoughtful. She moved the basket of salves and cloths to sit next to the others. ﾓWell, the cleaning and inventory... did he mention food and clothes and such? For him and for you, Ria?"

ﾓHe did mention food," Ria responded. ﾓMostly he said you would get me what I needed."

ﾓWell, then, if'n you're to get his meals and such, you'll be needing a tour of the place. And if you're to feed yourself, why you can bring the meals up with his. It'll save you a trip. Of course," she nodded, ﾓif you find yourself lonely for a woman's talk, you can always come eat with me." She looked around. ﾓSo, next is the clothing storage. We'll need you some working clothes. You have enough underthings? Good boots? Gloves? A winter cloak? How long will you be here for, anyway?"

ﾓI brought some clothing," she said quickly. They weren't as fine as even the apprentices here wore, but her father had worked his fingers to the bone to provide for her. ﾓI'm to be here a turn. I think I'll need a cloak... mine is rather worn." That she would admit to; she didn't want to freeze.

ﾓWell, it does get cold coming off the water, the winter breeze, even if we are down south here in Boll. But, let's get these baskets to the hall so we can move on." She carried both of her baskets, one under each arm, out to the hall, waited politely for her new charge, then set the baskets aside. ﾓRun in and close the glows, Ria, there's a good lass. And get a basket for your glows..."

Doing as she was told, Ria grabbed a second basket, shut the glows, and hurried out after Shirisa. That left her with two baskets as well, and she shifted the weight of the heavier one. ﾓDo you think that should be everything I need?" she asked, a little worried. ﾓI've never cleaned such large chambers."

ﾓWell if it's not you'll have a key by the nightfall to get more whenever you need them." Shirisa smiled. ﾓLeave those right there and we'll get you some work clothes, Ria. You may think you've got the clothes you need, but most holders don't know what to send with their apprentices, and I'll bet your family was no different." She let out a laugh. ﾓNo slight, child, no slight. Just a lot of dirty scrubbing you'll be doing and you'll want to keep your other clothes nice, won't you?"

Sharisa moved down the hall a ways until she got to a door on the opposite wall. Opening this one, she reached inside the inner frame and pulled down a chain of keys. ﾓHere you are." She offered the entire set to Ria. ﾓThey're supposed to be the Master's but he rarely leaves his suite, so they're down here collecting spinner webs."

Ria took the keys and looked at them, feeling a little odd holding them. The Master's keys... that was an awful lot of access for a drudge.

The large woman moved inside and opened the over-large glow basket that was standard to the Weaver Hall. ﾓAnd here we are. If'n you need some pretties, you let me know. Now, there's an inventory book in each store room, so you'll need to mark off what you take. I'll fix those up tonight after you get your supplies."

ﾓWow," was all Honoria could say, looking around the room with wide eyes. Her clothing was nothing but shabby in comparison. She walked over to a beautiful yellow dress, long and full in the skirt, and ran a tentative hand across the sleeve of it. It was the softest thing she'd ever touched, and she snatched her hand back, worried that her rough hands would snag the beautiful fabric.

ﾓWhat's wrong, child? It's good enough isn't it?" She frowned and started inspecting the dress.

ﾓIt's beautiful," she said, moving further away from it as if she was afraid her mere presence would damage the dress. ﾓBut it's far too fine... I would never need something like that. I suppose I need trousers and shirts?"

ﾓOh, wouldn't you now? And what'll you wear to Turn's End?"

Ria had no answer to that, and her gaze drifted back to the yellow gown. ﾓBut certainly someone else should wear it," she murmured. ﾓNot a drudge."

ﾓNo one'll touch it. The woman who owned it was murdered." Her voice sounded a bit sad, then she shook herself. ﾓBut, yes, you'll need something to make the Hall proud for Feastdays. And it suits you, Ria." She turned as if that settled the question. ﾓNow, work clothes. You prefer trousers or skirts?"

Giving one last longing look at the dress, Ria turned to the work clothes with Shirisa. ﾓI've only owned skirts and dresses," she admitted, ﾓbut I think I'll be needing trousers at least to begin with."

ﾓWell if that what you want then that's what you'll have." She started moving her hands quickly over the girl without warning. ﾓRight... you're just a slip of a thing under that cloak, aren't you?"

Ria gulped and nodded, never having had a woman, or even a man, take her measurements like that. But she supposed the Weaver Hall even wanted their drudges to be well dressed.

ﾓI'll help you carry these things up today, but I can't take the stairs that much. Knees, you know... not as bad as the Master, but, there you are... I think no one's bad as the Master."

ﾓI can handle the stairs," she assured her. This was the second reference to the Master's disability, though Shirisa had shied away from an explanation. ﾓDoes Master Aurum have any special requirements I need to attend to?" she asked carefully. Her question had been ignored once before, and it seemed the answer was very important.

Shirisa looked at her. ﾓWell, he mentioned the cooking," she repeated, ﾓand the food. And he'd have explained about the medicines and bandages, I'm sure. He certainly can't do that for himself, now can he?" She nodded, seeming to think Honoria knew all about the problem. ﾓSo, I suppose it's just that he'll need you to help him with whatever comes up. Business deals, supplies, fetching the cobbler when those boots of his wear down once a month..."

ﾓBandages and medicines?" Ria asked, her face going pale. ﾓIs... is that why he limps?"

ﾓGoodness child, did you think he'd be good as new after what he went through?" Shirisa sounded surprised. ﾓOr did they not teach you healing at that hold of yours?" She sounded sympathetic.

ﾓI... I don't know anything about what he went through," Ria replied, confused and feeling more like an ignorant hold child than ever. ﾓI do know some healing, I was given some training... I liked it but my father wouldn't let me apprentice..."

ﾓWell, then I'll have to tell you myself. It is a relief you've got some healing to you. Would have been foolish of the Master to hire you on to look after him without that much." Shirisa started piling trousers and tunics and chest bands and underpants into a fifth basket. ﾓWe'll be more comfortable with a meal when I tell you. Let's bring this stuff up and go get a bite. Then, afterwards you can decide whether you want to work for such a man or not." She nodded. It was the first time she even hinted that the Master might not be a good man.

Continued in Chapter Four


	4. A Past Best Forgotten

All That Glitters: 04 of ?

A Past Best Forgotten: Weaver Hall: 3400.01.17

Easing herself to the wooden chair across the table from Riaﾒs, Shirisa gave out a sigh and pulled up her skirts. Her knees were red and swollen and looked like she might be developing that joint ailment Moreece had. With a sigh, she began to rub one knee. Gesturing with her head towards the well laden table, she looked at the girl. "Well, eat then, and Iﾒll talk. But itﾒs not a pretty story, Ria."

Ria nodded and sipped at her tea. "Afterwards I have a salve I can make that might help your knees," she offered helpfully. "My fatherﾒs joints swelled horribly... I had the healers teach me a technique to soothe his pain."

"A real blessing. Someone smiled on me when they sent you, child," she sighed. "Well," she moved her hands to the other knee, kneading as she spoke, "on with the tale."

"It was in the turn of ﾑ83, maybe ﾑround the time you were born, hmm?" She offered a smile. "Anyway, the Master had been posted up to the Hold proper. He was a new Master, but not a man nor woman would argue him getting a real good posting. He was that good, you see." She looked at her. "Have you seen his work, Ria?"

"Yes," she said fervently. "Iﾒve seen the ladies of the Hold wearing them, and I saw... he was working on something amazing when I was up there." She could still see the delicate lace and what looked like silver in her head, almost transparent it was so thin.

"Yes, well, heﾒs a true artist when he does that orrus work." She smiled. "Heﾒs the best on Pern, no doubts there. And ifﾒn it was silver or gold, then it was... _silver or gold_ he was working." She paused to see what Ria would say to that.

She made another small sound of amazement, when told that it was indeed silver he had been working with. It seemed impossible.

"Well, he was at the big Hold with his wife and boy when that nastiness with..." and she lowered her voice for once, "Zarim happened."

"He had a family," Ria said softly, thinking of her father. She barely remembered her mother, but the thought of that man who frightened her so as a father and husband made him seem strangely more human. "Who is Zarim?"

"Heﾒs the _Lord Warder_ of Southern Boll Hold, he is. Some say as heﾒs wanting to be more than that." She put her leg down, fixed her skirts, wiped her hands down her still present apron, then grabbed a piece of bread, tearing it in two. Taking a knife to some butter, she started spreading it on the bread as she continued. "Well, ﾑbout the time Master got to the Hold, Zarim thinks to himself, ﾑWhy canﾒt I have the Hold?ﾒ You see, his brother, Naipsac was Lord, and a fine one he was, too. His son, named for him mind you, was his only child since the boyﾒs mother died bearing the babe." She took a bite, pausing in her monologue.

After two more bites, a rapturous expression crossed her face. "I just love fresh bread. Anyway, The story goes Zarim wanted his brotherﾒs hHold, and wouldnﾒt you know it? Naipsac conveniently dies in his sleep one night. Well, thereﾒs no one who can take care of the baby lord except the grieving uncle, Zarim. So, he takes the wardership, takes the babe, and takes the whole blame Hold." Shirisa shook her head and reached for another piece of bread, this time spearing some cold meat to lay on top.

"Now, Master Aurumﾒs wife, Feyra, was sister to Lord Naipsac, so she was angry like you wouldnﾒt believe." She leant forward and hushed her voice again. "There are them what says she told Aurum to go to the Hold and get it back from Zarim. But the Master refused." She nodded and sat straight again, taking a bit of her meat and bread. "Of course, that was proper, even with the dead lord and the baby lord being related. Crafts canﾒt mix in Holds... we saw what happened back thousand turns ago when they tried. So, he didnﾒt go. Had his own boy to think about." She shook her head.

"Well, Feyra was mad as all get out. She told him to watch their babe like the..." Shirisa frowned fiercely, "like the woman he was, and sheﾒd go do a manﾒs job." And she tried, too. She marched right up to her brother Zarim and gave him what for. She never come home, either. Seems she got clumsy drunk that night and fell off the heights or some such nonsense." Shirisa shook her head, took a very long drink from her tea, and sighed. "Well, the Master was that broke up he took a sabbatical and went back to his home... High Stand Cothold... itﾒs just up aways from here, not far. When he got there, Zarim decided that too many cotters would be loyal to old Naipsac, so he wanted a clean sweep. He was going to replace all the cotters with his own men. Aurumﾒs people didnﾒt take too kindly to the suggestion they go to Aisula Nalsa to join their older boy... Aurumﾒs brother married the Lady of Aisula Nalsa, donﾒt you know... for cotters they were well placed." She gave a nod and a smile of triumph.

Shirisa started cutting a tuber with her large fork. Her eating utensils, plate, and mug were larger than Riaﾒs due to the womanﾒs great size. "Well, he saw the men coming and grabbed up the babe and took off out the back. I think he told his people to leave, too, but they wouldnﾒt. Now, everyone what was in the cothold is dead. Told there was a fire or some such. I think they were murdered, same as Naipsac and Feyra. But, see, Aurum didnﾒt escape without being beaten to an inch of his life. He managed to protect the boy, but itﾒs a wonder he lived.

Shirisa started pouring more tea into her own mug. "No one would help them, you see. All afraid of Zarim. He dragged himself out of those mountains and down here to the Hall. Child tucked in his jacket, too. Barely made it back alive, Iﾒll tell you." Tears welled in the womanﾒs eyes.

The tea was spilling over, unnoticed by the Headwoman.

Honoria reached out and stopped the tea, unable to even speak. Sheﾒd never realized until this moment how sheltered her father had kept her, that sheﾒd never even heard a single word of these events. "Thatﾒs so horrible," she whispered, cleaning up the spill without giving the Headwoman a chance. So many things made sense now: the slightly mad look in his eyes, the uncared for rooms... a man who had lost so much was lucky to be sane and not locked up at Botany Bay.

"Oh, but thatﾒs not the end of it, Ria." She wiped her wet hand on her skirt. "That little boy is still at the Hold with his uncle. Some say the manﾒs just waiting to take the Hold from him, but I donﾒt see how... without another one of them convenient accidents." She looked around, stood and grabbed the pot, heading for the sink. Filling the pot, she spoke over her shoulder. "And of course, heﾒs no babe now. Heﾒd be about 17 I think... your age I shouldnﾒt wonder." When the pot was filled, she threw in the blend of herbs she used and put it over the fire.

Her voice softened to almost inaudible. "And then thereﾒs his own babe... ifﾒn the child had lived, heﾒd be your age, too."

"His son?" Her voice cracked when she spoke. She remembered the pain in her fatherﾒs eyes when she left, and wondered what he would do if she was gone. Unable to stop herself, she bent her head to hide her tears: for Aurum, his wife, the poor boy at Southern Boll, the son... "He lost everyone," she finished, voice tiny and full of sadness.

"Well, not all at once, and not all his siblings. He did lose his oldest brother when that Sidaj woman took over Aisula Nalsa Hold... the hussy." He voice turned fierce. "And no one knows where the real Lady and her babes went to... I think that woman may have killed them all." She turned from the fire, eyes as fierce as her voice. "And of course, thatﾒs when his son got killed."

"He was at the Hold?"

She shook her head. "Not at first. But when news came down that Aisula Nalsa was under attack, Bael asked his father to help. Of course, Aurum couldnﾒt do that. Craft and Hall, after all. So Bael called him a coward and went up himself. Got himself killed for his trouble, and he only twelve or thirteen. I was in the collection room and heard the whole thing." She shuddered. "That hussy never did give the body back for proper burial, either."

"Faranth," Ria murmured, raising a hand to her mouth to help choke back a sob. Her sheltered, pampered life now made her sick in comparison. This man had lost everything he held dear. She tried to imagine her father gone,and herself being all alone in the world, and had to shake her head to rid herself of the painful image. With shaking hands she sipped from her tea, holding the mug tightly so that nothing would spill. "Is there anything else I should know?" she asked after regaining her composure.

"Oh!" Shirisa shook her head and sank down onto her sturdy chair once more. "Of course... his leg. Well, heﾒll need medicines for the injuries and for the pain. He needs that leg massaged with herbs and salves and I donﾒt know what all. And he needs special dressings for when it gets hot and others when it gets cold. He really should have another healer in to see to it, but no healer ever has time these days. They all say theyﾒll come when their schedule clears but never show." She rolled her eyes. "The Masterﾒs not mean, the dolts. He is thrifty... and he is strict... and he can bark with the best of them. And if you do something bad to him, heﾒll do the same for you. But heﾒs not mean."

Again Ria nodded, silently taking in the information. "I guess my knowledge of herbology will be of some use," she said, more than happy to get off the subject of dead families. "He wasnﾒt mean to me either," she continued, "just... a little frightening."

With a chuckle, Shirisa nodded. "Well, he can be that." She looked around and nodded again. "So, now to get you to your room. Letﾒs take a quick look see over the Hall so you know whatﾒs where then weﾒll get you settled." She pushed herself up with a groan, wriggled her legs and knees, then headed for the door.

Continued in Chapter Five


	5. Facing the Monster

All That Glitters: 05 of ?

Facing the Monster: Weaver Hall: 3400.01.17

Shirisa had sent a large tray of supper up with a burly journeyman. He seemed a bit nervous to be there and kept his eyes on the floor, not daring to look at what might lay in the room around him. "Glad you're here now." His voice was quiet and gruff. "You'll be the one getting the Master's food from now on. I can..." he suddenly looked up and beyond her, going pale.

Behind Honoria stood Master Aurum, leaning heavily on his cane. His face was pulled into lines of weariness. "Well, Jadon. I suppose the girl's bad fortune is your good, as you won't be feeding me any more."

The journeyman hurriedly slipped past his master and put the over-ladened tray on the table with the glass jar. He muttered something then practically ran past Honoria and out the main iron-shod door. His footsteps were muffled by the heavy wood.

Ria stared at the door behind the journeyman, shocked at his rudeness and terrified by what it meant, that a journeyman would treat his Master so. She took a gulp then turned back to Master Aurum. "Should I retire to my quarters for now?" she asked quietly, though calling the small alcove quarters was being generous. "I can return after you've eaten to help tend to your leg."

Aurum was studying the tray of food sent up but stopped, turning his upper body rather than his neck to look at her. "Why? Aren't you hungry, m'dear?"

"I assumed you would want your privacy, Master," she said, bowing her head politely.

"Well, that isn't much fun, is it?" His tone was amused and playful, not the same as the serious, almost growling tone he'd used on the journeyman. "I guess you could take your share and eat in your room if you wish..." He made his way towards his work chair, revealing a second chair he'd obviously placed there while she was busy.

"Oh!" Her surprise was obvious. "I-," she paused, unsure of what to say. "Thank you, Master Aurum," she finally settled on, moving uneasily to the second chair. She looked at him once more, still not entirely certain if this was yet another joke or not, then sat down delicately on the edge of the chair. She smoothed her skirt around her legs, then folded her hands in her lap for lack of anything better to do with them.

"Comfy?" He sank onto his chair, leaning his cane against the wall close to him. "You don't have to serve me, so you may as well serve yourself, m'dear."

"Of course," she murmured, taking one plate while trying to fully comprehend the spread before her. Even on Turn's End her father never set out such an extravagant feast. And yet this seemed to be a nightly affair for him. She took a plate, then sat there helplessly, overwhelmed by the options.

With a chuckle, Aurum began spearing meat on a knife. He reached over the table and placed the meat on her plate, using a fork to remove the knife. He then reached for a rather large crusty tuber, moving that to her plate, a smile playing over his lips all the while. "How is that? Honey?"

Now completely flabbergasted, the Master was serving her, Ria stuttered her thanks. "It's... amazing," she said finally. Then she blinked and looked at him, heat fluttering up in her cheeks. "I... I'm sorry?" she asked, heart stuttering in her chest.

The master picked up a bowl, uncovering a brown liquid which seemed to glow golden in the light. "Honey is a sweet, made from pollen I believe, though I've no learning in agriculture." He offered the bowl. "Or did you think I had mangled your name?" He seemed to savor the word, "honey..."

The heat turned into a full on fire, and she once again ducked her head. But still... "I've never heard of honey," she confessed, unable to help but peer at the bowl. "What does it taste like?" She decided to ignore his last comment, simply because she had no response at all for him.

Aurum dipped his finger in the bowl and reached it across the table, holding it close to her lips. "Try it and see."

Her face couldn't possibly have gotten redder but it was so tempting. She leaned forward slightly before common sense took over, and she reached out with her own hand and swiped her finger across his. Still aware of her heated face, she looked down while licking the sticky substance from her finger.

"Ohhh," she murmured, eyes closing in pure delight. "I've never tasted anything so delicious in my life!"

A small chuckle came from him as he put his own finger in his mouth to clean off the rest. "Well, try some... you may use as much as you like... Honey." His look was playful and wicked, teasing her with the pet name.

"Thank you," she said, perhaps smiling for the first time since she'd arrived. She had relaxed a little now and was able to serve herself the honey as well as a bread roll. "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to serve you, Master Aurum?" she asked when her plate was filled.

"Why? Do I look too old to handle a fork?" He tilted his head at her, smiling and reaching across the table for her bread. This man was nothing like the rumors that had reached her in Ista. And how did he merit the fear of the staff down below?

"That's not what I meant," she said hurriedly. "It's just that I'm here to serve you and, well... I'm not serving you right now."

"Ah," he nodded sagely "all work and no play..." Spreading some honey on the bread, he took a bite, drank some wine, and looked directly at her, his playful tone gone in a flash. "You are going to serve me. But I can feed myself. You will clean for me and bring my food up here and tend my clothes and belongings..."

The sunshine in her face disappeared immediately, and she ducked her head. "Of course, Master Aurum. I apologize."

He frowned at that. "Apologize for what?"

"I didn't mean to offend you, sir."

"Offend me?" He shook his head and looked at the bread he'd stolen. "By hinting that I'm old enough to be your... I'm twice your age and near my dotage?" He frowned fiercely, but his eyes sparkled.

Her mouth working soundlessly, all Ria could think was that he was completely, totally insane. Finally she found her tongue, and took her cutlery to the meat he'd chosen for her. "Well perhaps I wouldn't assume you were nearing your dotage if you dusted occasionally," she responded.

Maybe the only way to deal with insanity was more of the same.

He looked surprised at the comment and put his roll down. "I see." His tone was very serious now. "Come, I need my leg tended. You can finish your supper afterwards." This time, there was nothing about him that spoke of a joke. He pushed himself up from the table, grabbed his walking stick, and limped towards the curtained off area.

With a brisk tug, he opened the curtains, revealing an immaculately clean and dusted area with a chest of drawers for clothes, a night stand with a clean glass on it, a large wood and glass cabinet of medical supplies, and a well made bed. Everything seemed to be orderly, even if the linens seemed old and faded.

Wisely not saying a word, Ria followed him. She was shocked at how clean and orderly this small part of the room was, and felt guilty for her attempt at a dig of his cleanliness. "What do I need to get?" she asked softly, going to the glass cabinet.

"I'll let you be the judge of that, m'dear." His voice was quieter, but still serious. He pulled his short sleeved tunic over his head in a swift movement, revealing scars down his back and sides. Just as quickly, he unbuckled the trousers and let them drop, sinking to the bed. His right leg was gnarled just above the knee by scars mixed with open scabbing, and it looked like a long term deep infection was brewing across the thigh. He had salves on it, and some sort of sweet smelling substance, so the infection didn't smell bad, but it was obvious he had been ill and injured for some time. Shirisa had mentioned he hadn't had the healer in for awhile. Aurum looked at her. "The boots buckle."

She caught her breath in a gasp, having seen enough pictures to know that some of those open scabs were infected. First thing in the morning, she thought, she'd speak to Shirisa about having a healer sent for. After her initial shock at the extent of his injuries she moved forward and knelt at the foot of the bed. There were many buckles, the right one looking a good deal more complicated than the left.

For that reason she started on his left boot first, figuring out the buckles and managing to slide it off his foot carefully. She could see the slight curve, and wondered if it caused him much pain. That would be reason enough to use a cane, but it was his right leg he was supporting. At that point she was expecting something horrible beneath the right boot, and she undid the complicated buckles with slow, shaking hands. When she'd finished and removed it with as much care as she could, she dropped it and fell backwards, hands flying to her mouth to cover the sound of dismay.

The ankle was bent at a near ninety degree angle, so he was, in effect, forced to walk on his outer ankle, making his foot fold painfully. The boot apparently compensated for the shortened right side and the vulnerable ankle because the cobbler who'd made it put extra padding and extra sole, but after a long day on his feet, it wouldn't still be painful for Aurum to get around.

Barely holding back her tears, Ria pushed herself back up. "Master Aurum, this is beyond my skills," she said, aching in sympathy for him. "But I'm sure you know that, don't you..." she finished, looking up at him. The unshed tears shimmered in her eyes, but she pulled herself up. "I can give you relief but we need to have a healer come look at this infection."

She went to the medicine cabinet and removed bandages, a pot of numbweed oil, a disinfectant... after a little searching she found a bottle of antibiotics, though she didn't know how old they were. She returned with her supplies and an extra pan, sitting back down on the floor at his feet. She poured some of the oil in the pan before adding the bandages. "This should help your ankles," she said quietly, feeling as though she should fill some of the silence.

Soon enough the bandages were soaked through, and after a liberal dose of redwort for her hands she began wrapping them as slowly and carefully as she could around his right foot. Once again tears pricked her eyes, and not from the smell of the numbweed. She could only imagine the pain this was causing him, but she knew that it would ease his sleep that night. "Tell me if it hurts too much," she said in a tiny voice, almost a plea.

Aurum voice had softened and warmed to that molten honey tone once more. "No need to cry for the monster, Honey, he's lived with this for seven turns..."

"No one should have to live with this," she said in a fierce whisper, now wrapping around the mangled ankle. Here she was especially careful, making sure that the bandages were well soaked. She held her breath through the worst part, just waiting for him to cry out in pain, and then hurriedly finished the foot up until the shin.

The left foot got the same treatment, though it didn't require the gentleness of the right. That one she wrapped well up to the ankle. If he decided to put those boots back on he was going to have trouble walking, but she didn't plan on letting him back out of that bed for the evening.

Now she turned her attention to the open sores on his right leg, dabbing gently at them with gauze and disinfectant. "How old are those antibiotics?" she asked him as she worked, disposing of soiled gauze in the pan behind her. "You need to start taking them until we can get a healer in here to see you."

Aurum glanced at the container of medicine and shook his head. "I haven't seen a healer in half a turn, and he never gave me any. By now they know it doesn't work. Those are perhaps two or three turns old." He shifted his weight on the bed, lying backwards against his pillows as she continued to work.

She may have cursed under her breath, but it was low enough to be unintelligible. More than one wound needed to be lanced, and she was never so grateful for her strong stomach than at those moments. "This is the best I can do for now," she murmured, massaging numbweed into the wounds. "This should be treatable, Master Aurum."

It was then she realized how far her hands had drifted up his leg, and she snatched them back quickly. She glanced up at him, expecting a snarky remark, and was surprised to see that he had fallen asleep. So, she'd had her hand on the upper thigh of a half naked man. She burned with embarrassment again, so grateful that he was sleeping she could have cried.

She collected the supplies and returned some to the cabinet, adding the rest to a pile to be discarded. After wiping the redwort off as much as possible she shifted his blankets to cover him, and went back to the table. They hadn't eaten much, she realized, and her own appetite had disappeared. _The rolls will keep_, she thought, and moved the basket to his bedside table. _If he wakes hungry he can have a snack_, she thought.

Drawing the shades around his bed, she took the tray of still mostly untouched food and the pan for disposal. After walking quietly across the room and closing the door as gently as possible, she turned for the large door. She would return the tray to Shirisa, and mention that a healer needed to be called, perhaps even say something about the rudeness of the journeyman.

Continued in Chapter Six


	6. Tumbling Into Trouble

All That Glitters: 06 of ?

Tumbling Into Trouble: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.03

At first, the task had seemed overwhelming. Her own little alcove, which had once been the master's office, received absolutely no light. It had been so dust covered she'd nearly had a fit coughing, and after that she hadn't begun a thing without a scarf covering her mouth and nose. She felt a little guilty to be cleaning her own area first, but it was the smallest and the rest was... so, so much.

She had decided that though the main room was larger, it was safer than attacking the master's living quarters. The two giant windows were covered with tapestries depicting amazing images, which must have taken Turns upon Turns to create. One was a scene of flaming dragons over a hold, with people on the ground brandishing flamethrowers. She stood, amazed, staring at it for far too long.

It simply had to be cleaned, she thought, though she had no real idea of how to clean such a gigantic piece. Her first and only attempt at simply shaking it from the bottom had resulted in such a shower of dust that she'd had to go bathe before she could continue. She would have to get help from the weavers to clean these masterpieces, she realized, wondering how on Pern she would be able to convince anyone to come in here to remove them.

Before a proper inventory could be made, she had decided, the items must be cleaned. She had spread glows across the huge room, which while no substitute for sunshine definitely made the room cheerier. It also allowed her to see the treasures that Aurum had gathered over his turns while she cleaned.

And oh, such treasures: things that must have been saved from Landing, that may have even predated the First Crossing. She held each item reverently while she cleaned, a process that took at least four times as long as it would have had she not been so enthralled. More than once she caught herself simply staring in wonder at an item, unaware of the time that had passed.

Eventually, the room was as clean as it would be without the tapestries being removed. Which only left his room. He'd mostly ignored her while she went through the process of cleaning, aside from sardonic laughter when the tapestry dusted her. He was in the doorway of his private room, his office space she'd come to understand, the drapes to his private area closed as they were during the day.

Steeling her nerves she gathered her bucket of cleaning supplies and walked softly forward. "Master Aurum," she murmured, so as not to disturb him. She'd learned quickly that disturbing him at the wrong time could easily lead to an outburst. "Should I clean your room now?"

Aurum looked up from a large wherhide volume he was perusing. With a shrug, he stood, putting the book down and reaching for his walking stick. "By all means, Honey... mustn't keep you from your work." His voice was playful as he moved into his private room. There were the wheels, the drapery, the table with the jar, and one bank of windows uncovered. The other side was still covered by those large, indistinct tapestries.

"Oh flaming dragon sh... ," she trailed off and stomped to the tapestry. She was going to have to go all the way back down to the stores and get more glows. Was the man afraid he'd burst into flame if light got in? Her patience was a little worn by that point, and she grabbed the tapestry and tried to sway its weight to the side, so at least some light could get into the room.

He watched her struggle for a long moment then smiled and limped over to her, his limp less noticeable since she'd started her nightly treatments. "Would you care for some help, Honey?"

"Oh, no," she said sarcastically, giving another tug and getting herself another dust bath for her troubles. "Ugh!" She smacked the offending tapestry with her hand, which only made matters worse.

Then she remembered where she was, and who was there with her. She straightened up and tried to wipe the dust and dirt from her face. "I apologize for my language, Master Aurum," she said, eyes glued to the floor. "If you'll excuse me I'll get some extra glows."

The master shook his head and walked closer, stopping to reach behind the larger wheel. He brought out a folding step stool and carried it to her side. Placing it on the floor, he moved to the other side of the tapestry, balancing his cane against the wall. Reaching up, he gripped the tapestry in his hands. He looked over to her. "Whenever you're ready, Honey..." his voice sounded amused.

The stool put her at a level with him, and she was surprised to be looking straight at him. What had appeared to be brown eyes actually had gold flecks through them, she noticed. She realized she'd been staring for just a bit too long and blushed brightly. "Okay," she said, grasping the tapestry. She still wasn't quite certain what they were going to do but she was certain she'd rather get this done now.

He nodded and looked up towards the ceiling. "Of course, you are aware that this tapestry is about a thousand turns old and pulling on it might destroy it." His voice sounded casual.

"What?" she squeaked, snatching her hands back from the tapestry like it might burst into flame. Her sudden movement upset her balance on the stool, and she grasped out for the nearest thing to stop her fall which was, unfortunately, the same tapestry that was probably worth more than her entire family from the First Crossing on.

Moving with surprising speed, Aurum side stepped to her and reached strong arms around her waist. He pulled her against his chest, murmuring "Let go. I won't let you fall."

Breathing hard from the sudden fright, she unfisted her hands from the tapestry. She had no idea where else to put them so she rested them on his shoulders, blushing even more as she did so. No man aside from her father had ever held her so close: it felt improper but exciting at the same time. "T-thank you," she whispered, trying very hard not to get lost in those gold flecked eyes again.

He stood there, supporting her weight against his surprisingly muscular chest. His layers of clothing had hidden his strength. Looking back into her eyes, Aurum started leaning closer. His voice was molten honey as he whispered, "in reward for playing the hero, I think I should steal a kiss..."

She made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and her breath caught in her throat. Her heart thudded at his words, though in fear or excitement she couldn't say. Perhaps both. "That is usually how the tales end, isn't it?" she managed to whisper in response.

A heartbeat later he kissed her forehead and then settled her to her feet. "Well," his voice was that playful tone again, "we wouldn't want this to be an end, would we?"

Blinking in surprise at finding her feet suddenly on the ground, she nodded weakly. "I suppose not," she murmured, not understanding any of the emotions rushing through her right then. "I'll go fetch those glows now, sir," she continued, trying not to run through the door as his soft chuckle followed her.

Continued in Chapter Seven


	7. Plotting Against the Master

All That Glitters: 07 of ?

Plotting Against the Master: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.03

Downstairs, Shirisa was overseeing the preparation of the evening meal. She smiled widely as she saw Honoria move past. "Well, Ria... come down, have you?"

Wiping at her face again with the cleaning rag she had grabbed on her escape from the rooms, Ria looked at Shirisa as if she didn't recognize her. "Oh, yes," she said, trying to cover up her confusion and flushed face at the same time. "I've cleaned Master Aurum's rooms, all but his personal chambers. I-I need glows," she said. "For the room," she continued on, wishing her hands weren't so disgusting. Otherwise she'd be chewing her nails, a habit she'd broken turns ago. "And the tapestries... they are in an awful state and need cleaning. I don't think I can do anything to them myself."

The woman rolled her eyes and let out a great heave. "Well, those monstrosities will need removing before cleaning, no doubt. I'd forgotten they were there. Have been since the previous Master had them tacked up to block all the good light. Towards the end, he got sick whenever the sun shone." She shook her head and looked at Ria. "I forgot Master couldn't remove them without help. Should've been done turns ago. How he could work in such poor light..."

Shirisa shook again her head and glanced over her busy staff. Seemingly assured they were doing their work, she started briskly down the hall which led to the storage halls. "Well, nothing like a bit of hard work to build an appetite." She threw a smile at Ria. "So, you've finished that great big room in two sevendays, have you? And made sure not to break those pretties of the Master's?"

She had to nearly run to keep up with the much taller woman during their walk, but she nodded. "Yes, ma'am," she said, "all but his personal room. There was an... issue with the tapestry over the window." Her face flushed, and she promised herself to work on controlling that from now on.

"Well, you could try using cording to roll it up, Ria." Shirisa smiled at her. "But, you want glows." She opened the proper storage room and grabbed a large basket. "I suppose you won't be wanting so many once I get those journeymen up there to remove those tapestries. There was a lovely one the Hall had, said to be from the eighth pass." She gestured with her head towards another basket as she filled the one she held. "And do you need bandages and salve yet?"

Well. It hadn't occurred to her to use cording. "Yeah, glows," she muttered, ducking her head again to hide yet another blush. "And yes..." she said, her voice wavering as she remembered the nightly routine since her first evening at the Hall. The way it was bent at the ankle... even with the special boot she was amazed that he could walk at all. The amount of pain he must live with every day made her shudder despite herself. "The supplies are getting low."

"He'll need a new boot soon. We'll have to find that cobbler. Only man on Pern that Master Aurum will let tend his footwear." She nodded, placing one last glow in the basket. "Well, and that's enough for a while. So, we'll need the medicines and such... and some strong cords..." She smiled and winked at the younger woman. "You'll need a stool, too, I dare say. You're so tiny. You can't possibly reach the tops of those windows."

Ria nodded, knowing that it was nearly time. She tended those boots twice daily, after all. "He actually has a stool," she said, unable to contain the tiny smile that snuck out as she remembered his strong arms holding her, how close he had leaned to her. Perhaps she had enjoyed that just a bit too much.

"...need when that healer finally comes?" Shirisa looked at Ria expectantly, obviously having addressed the question to the younger woman while she daydreamed.

"The healer?" she repeated, blinking her eyes in confusion. "Oh, the healer. Of course. Have we heard anything yet?"

Shirisa shook her head, sounding a bit annoyed. "No. You'd think a healer would move quicker when it comes to tending a craft master, but most healers are as foolishly afraid of him as everyone else."

Making a very unladylike noise, Honoria turned towards the front of the Hall. "We might have better luck flagging down a dragon, going to the Hall ourselves, and dragging one by force." Her own irritation with the situation was rapidly approaching that level.

The older woman turned wide eyes on the younger, obvious fear there. "You mean ride one of them great beasts? Oh... I couldn't do that..." The huge woman shook her head. "I'd rather try sending my Brown. He's good with messages, if'n someone bothers to read them."

Honoria frowned for a moment in thought, then her eyes lit up with an evil glint. "I think I know how we could get someone here right away," she said, reaching for pen and parchment. Reading aloud, she wrote, "Urgent need for Master Healer at Weaver Hall, outbreak of unknown virus. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting," she paused, tapping her chin with the pen while she thought, "and anal leakage."

Shirisa shook her head. "And when they get here, we'll be marked liars."

"Do you have any better ideas?" she asked, raising her eyes to the Headwoman. "We've sent well a dozen politely worded requests for a healer to attend the _Master_ Weaver of Pern and we've been ignored."

A sudden glint flickered through the woman's eyes and she grinned wickedly. "Oh, I have an idea. Never tried it, but it's something the Master himself mentioned once. People don't want to walk around nude. It's why we're so profitable. Everyone wants clothes..." She smiled at Ria.

Laughter burst from her and she clapped her hands in delight. "And I doubt the healers want to walk around naked," she said, grinning wickedly. "You are an evil woman Shirisa."

"So," Shirisa once more took up the idea with a laugh, "we tell Master Aurum and he threatens to withdraw all Weaver services, as well as Tapestry, Orrus Weaver, and Tailor services, until we get someone here." She laughed, a sound which ended in a sigh. "Trouble is, Master doesn't trust healers, so he won't threaten them to come see him. It's his style, but he won't do it, even if I beg him to."

Setting her jaw stubbornly, Ria grabbed the glow baskets. "I'll get him to write the note," she said in a confident tone. "I'll be back in an hour with it."

"Well, all the luck with you, Ria. If you can get him to agree to see a healer, you're a better woman than I." Shirisa smiled, not sounding insulted by the idea that Honoria might succeed where she failed. "I'll send some men up for them tapestries."

"And then I'll be able to return to you all your glow baskets," Honoria finished for her with a laugh. She gave a small wave and took off at a brisk walk for the stairs up to the Master's quarters.

Two sevendays of running up and down those stairs had already strengthened her legs and lungs, and she took the steps two at a time all the way to the top. There she stopped for a moment, self consciously patting her hair and then berating herself for being a silly wherry. She knocked twice, then pushed the door open.

"Master Aurum," she called, "I've brought fresh glows for your room. And Shirisa will be sending some men up soon to do something about the tapestries."

He limped out of his room into the large chamber, a slight frown on his face. "Shirisa knows best, of course." He didn't sound pleased that his private sanctum would be interrupted by a group of journeyman. He stopped next to an old scarred wooden desk that looked like it was hundred of turns old and wouldn't last the fortnight.

"Well, something has to be done about them," she said briskly, not giving herself a chance to look at him for too long. She passed him and put the new glow baskets in his bedroom, bringing the old ones with her on the way out. "I can begin inventorying your collection tomorrow," she told him with a smile.

He watched her move around in her domestic chores, his thoughts hidden behind his flecked brown eyes. "You want something..." his voice was suspicious.

"Yes actually," she said, her voice still cheerful. She grabbed the notebook that she had been using as a journal and tore a page from it and placed it and a pen on the table next to him. "You're going to threaten the Healer Hall with withdrawing your services unless a master is sent here immediately to treat your leg, or else I'm going to steal the first dragon I find and force one here myself." Her smile never wavered, but she made herself meet his eyes and not look away.

If he wanted to be stubborn, he had just met his match.

Aurum paused a long moment then his quirky sense of humor showed through as he began to laugh. "Honey, why would I need to threaten the Healer Hall to send a healer to me? I merely have to ask. Have you forgotten I am the Master Weaver of all Pern?" His eyes danced.

"But... but... ," confusion filled her eyes. "It's been two sevenday since I told you we needed a healer and they've ignored our every request!"

With a shake of his head, he moved into his private room still chuckling. Whipping out a piece of very fine parchment, not normally seen outside of a master's hands, he took a quill and began to write in his beautiful flowing script. After only a moment, he put the quill down and capped his ink, spread sand over the paper to dry the ink, then held it out to her with a bow. "There you are, Honey. A request for a healer to come as soon as possible to tend to the Master Weaver himself."

"You never sent any messages?" she asked, shocked. "I must have mentioned it a dozen times..."

He looked amused at her tirade. "I assumed you sent them as you were so adamant and I know you to have a very lovely hand, Honey." He seemed to be laughing.

She snatched the letter from his hand, maturely resisting the urge to stamp her foot in the process. She didn't even bother to look at it, simply rolled it up. "You are impossible," she said through clenched teeth. "Why on Pern would the healers listen to a request from a drudge?"

His laughter disappeared and he stepped right up to her, his speed amazing. "You are _not_ a drudge, Honey. You are my assistant." He whirled and limped back into his room, settling at his all purpose table once more and picking up the now silver and gold lace work he was working. "And a healer is required to answer any call for help, no matter the rank of the requestor. They have a special pledge they use when they join the hall. The Hypocrite's Oath."

All the annoyance left her in a deep sigh. "I do like the sound of assistant more than drudge," she commented, heading to the door. "I'm going to take this to Shirisa to send off." She threw a meaningful look over her shoulder at him, one that said she was not going to let him get out of this.

His parting words at her were "I would never let a drudge touch my... collection." It was apparent he had changed the word he was originally going to use.

Before she shut the door behind her, she looked back at him already bent over his work. Not a whore, nor a drudge, she thought with a small smirk. Things could be worse. She took the steps with a light heart, going to find Shirisa and get the letter sent to Healer Hall.

Continued in Chapter Eight


	8. A Master Mistake

All That Glitters: 08 of ?

A Master Mistake: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.03

Shirisa had seemed relieved when Ria came down, asking her if she could help her search the inventory for something that was missing. She did take time to send her firelizard, but the next several hours were spent inventorying the clothing storage. The items were never found, and never logged, but they were things Honoria hadn't touched. The Headwoman then went to raise hell with her drudges.

A loud knock sounded at the front door.

Ria lifted her head from the inventory checklist she had been going over, trying to help find the missing inventory. "I didn't hear any drums," she murmured.

The knock sounded again at the door.

Setting her notebook and pen down, Honoria hitched up her skirt and hopped over the boxes and piles of clothes on her way out of the room. She let her skirts fall back to cover her ankles as soon as she was in danger of seeing anyone, but continued to hurry. She was slightly out of breath when she reached the grand entrance, and more than a little irritated that no one else could have answered it aside from her. She swung it open to reveal a tall, thin man with pale blond hair and tired green eyes. He was dusty from travel and his clothes were wrinkled, but he did sport a master healer's cords. He smiled slightly, but his eyes were all business.

"Hello, my lady. I'm here to tend your Master." He straightened his shoulders, hefting his traveler's bag.

"Oh!" she exclaimed in delight, clapping her hands. "Thank you for responding so quickly. Please, let me." She reached for his bag. "I've been tending his leg wounds for two sevenday but... I'm not a healer."

He let her take the case and looked around the well lit hall. "Yes... where's my patient?" He sounded like he expected the worst since the man hadn't had a healer tending him.

"Right this way," she said, turning smartly, her heels clicking across the hall as she headed for the staircase. "All the way up," she said over her shoulder, taking them at a more sedate pace than usual as she had company. The rest of the climb went in silence, and once at the door she knocked twice again before swinging it open. "Master Aurum, the Healer Hall has sent Master..." she looked at him helplessly, realizing she had no idea what his name was.

Interrupting her, the man stepped into the large room with a frown as he glanced quickly around. "Master Larass. I am a specialist in falling injuries, but am well versed in all of the others."

Aurum turned from his table with a frown, a fierce look in his dark eyes. It was very possible something had happened to anger him while she'd been gone. And it wasn't hard to see what that might have been.

All the tapestries from his room and the larger room had been removed. It was dark with the night, but the windows were just as dirty as the tapestries had been. Apparently the journeymen had only done what they had been told, to the letter. Maybe he was grumpy because people had come into his rooms, though. "Master Lariss..." His voice was cold.

The healer looked like he didn't want to be there as much as Aurum didn't want him there.

"Larass," he corrected. Stepping briskly to the other master's side, he gestured towards the bed. "Please disrobe so I might tend your injury. If you are not adverse, your lady can aid me."

"My lady," Aurum looked angrier, "will aid me, Master Larish." He looked at Ria, his voice just as harsh. "Give the man his bag, Honoria. The sooner he tells me it's useless, the sooner he can leave." Aurum turned, leaning heavily on his cane, and limped to the bed, but didn't strip.

Two sevenday had taught her how volatile his moods could be, but it didn't take the sting out of his anger. She passed the bag across to Master Larass and bowed her head in the direction Aurum had gone. She didn't say anything as she followed the Master, not wanting to trigger his anger any more.

Larass walked to the bedside and put his bag on the nightstand, carefully moving the empty glass beforehand, handing it to Ria. "I will need to see the injury, Master Aurum, if you will please undress. If you need help, your lady may attend you."

Aurum straightened, anger blazing across his face, his eyes nearly going black. He was looking straight at the man as he ground out, "I am not an invalid. It is an old injury your profession has failed to properly attend to." He put a stress on the word 'profession' as if it were distasteful to say. Leaning his cane against the bed, Aurum quickly pulled his tunic over his head and unfastened his belt, dropping his trousers, in a very similar challenge to when he'd first shown his weakness to Ria. He did not make any move to touch his boots, though he eased himself onto the bed.

Wordlessly Honoria sank to her knees at the foot of the bed, fingers practiced at the complicated buckles by now. She eased the left off then began the longer process of removing the right. Over the last two sevenday she had learned his small tells, the things he didn't want her to realize hurt, and she'd managed a system of removing it with at least less pain than the first.

When his boots had been removed at last, Aurum gently rested a long-fingered hand on her head for a brief moment. He removed it and turned his scowl back on the healer, silent but glaring.

The man nodded and pulled out a bottle of redwort. After cleansing his hands, he walked over and began to prod the wound. He seemed un-noticing that he was causing newly healed scabs to tear, puss to ooze, and Aurum to stiffen and hiss in pain.

Honoria reached out and grabbed his hand, her own eyes blazing with anger. "You're hurting him," she said, squeezing a little harder than necessary on the healer's wrist.

"With an infection this deep set, my lady, it is inevitable. And if you break my wrist, I cannot help him at all. Do you want it clean or painless?"

Aurum's voice growled out, "You are not to talk to her. You do not have my leave to talk to her, Lirviss. Now get to your torture and be gone with you."

She let go of his wrist, but the anger in her eyes didn't fade. She moved off the floor to sit on the edge of the bed next to Aurum and found herself reaching for his hand, his fingers entwining with hers.

Master Larass shook his head, glaring at the older man with the woman half his age. "As you wish," he said coldly. Once more he began to prod the wound until Aurum went pale and his eyes began to roll back. Larass seemed not to see his patient beginning to faint.

When his fingers suddenly went slack, Ria turned away from her watchwher glare on Larass. "Master Aurum?" she said, panic rising in her voice. She moved her other hand to the side of his face, trying to get him to focus, terrified of what might be happening.

"He'll land on the bed. He'll be fine," Larass said, shaking his head and finally standing. Aurum passed out, as predicted, backwards onto his pillows, while the healer washed his hands once more. "Has he had antibiotics yet?"

She let go of his hand slowly, her own face pale. She never hurt him like that when she tended him, she thought desperately, having to convince herself of that. "There was a bottle from a few turns ago. He took them but they didn't seem to do much good."

"I see... and how old is this wound? The scarring here is not as fresh as I'd expect..."

"Seven turns," she murmured.

A shocked look crossed the healer's features. "Seven?" He shook his head, looking at the leg wounds once more. "Blazes, woman, this infection is probably bone deep. It's a wonder it hasn't killed him yet." He straightened, not even bothering to check the ankle as he reached for his bag. "There's no question he'll need it removed. While he's still unconscious will be best..."

Every word he said drained more blood out of her face, until the end when it all rushed up. She came off the bed in a surge of fury, her forward momentum giving her the force to shove him back towards the door. "You're out of your mind!" she hissed, giving him another shove when he didn't get the clue the first time.

"Out of my mind? I've seen less infections kill a man, my lady. Your husband is fortunate not to be dead or paralyzed. This infection is killing him."

"Get out!" she barely kept herself from screaming the words, balling her hands into fists. "And if the Healer Hall knows what's good for it they'll send a competent Master next time."

Aurum's voice, faint but honeyed, interrupted her. "Honey... please have Shirisa see Master Lardass out the door then return to me." He was awake, but his eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow with pain. It wasn't clear how much he'd heard.

Flashing a look of utter hatred at the man, she shoved past him and went to the main door. Opening it she called down the stairwell, "Shirisa, can you please send Vilmar and Prosel up? The healer needs to be shown out." She turned back from the doorway, the look in her eyes making it clear that she wouldn't leave until this man was away from Aurum.

Two very burly journeyman immediately came up the stairs for the second time that day. This time, however, instead of removing tapestries, they each stood on a side of the healer and glared at him. The healer grabbed his bag, shaking his head in disgust, and fairly flew down the steps.

"Headwoman Shirisa..." his voice sounded loud and echoing in the stairwell and halls. "I need to address this matter. The lady doesn't understand... she's unreasonable..."

"I'm not his 'lady'," Honoria snapped, having followed the man down the staircase to make certain he left. "And I am not unreasonable. You seem to have your head up your arse, though. I may not have been educated at the Healer Hall but even I've read that there are other options, even at this point of infection."

Larass whirled on her and crossed his arms. "That infection will reach his heart, if it hasn't already. It's why the antibiotics don't work... he's dying. And lady or lover, I don't care. You are still the one killing him." He whirled again, storming out of the large door, despite the darkness outside.

Shirisa looked horrified and turned to Honoria. "Ria? He's... dying?"

The words of the healer still stinging, especially with the crowd that had gathered. More rumors, she thought numbly. "He wanted to cut his leg off," she said to Shirisa in a small voice. "But I know there's a way... I need the books. There's alternatives to the antibiotics."

Shirisa wrapped her arms around Honoria. "There, child, hush now." She stroked her hair. Beginning to lead her back up the stairs, wise enough to know Ria wouldn't want to leave her Master for too long, the Headwoman made soothing noises and nonsensical words.

"The healers at Ista have books I need," she said, her voice going hard. "Maybe not all of them but they at least have some."

The woman nodded, her face getting redder as she made the effort to climb the stairs with her joint disease. "I know, Ria, I know. I'll send for healer books. Now wipe your eyes, child. Do you want the Master to see your tears?" She lifted the voluminous apron to dab at Ria's eyes. "It's not the first Healer that wanted to take that leg. Probably won't be the last, either." She made it to the second landing and stopped with a groan.

Suddenly Ria tossed her arms around the older woman, whispering a thank you that could barely be heard. Then she stepped back and smoothed her hair and dress. "You're right, he would be downright sardonic," she said in a wry voice.

Shirisa nodded. "He'd say '_crying for the monster?_' And he'd give that look of his that could burn stone." She smiled at Ria, the imitation rather good, even if it had been of his joking tone and not of his angry tone.

Ria laughed and stood on her toes to give the woman a kiss on the cheek. "Can you make it back down without an arm to lean on?" she asked, suddenly realizing that they had been climbing the stairs. She felt a stab of guilt that she had been so distraught that she had not noticed the Headwoman was in pain trying to comfort her.

"Oh yes," she sighed. "I'll lean on the rail. I'll have a sit down and use that salve you made me. It's a life saver, child." She smiled. "Oh, and did the men remove the tapestries properly? From all the rooms?"

"Yes, and as far as I can tell he hates it," she said in a flat voice, rolling her eyes. "They neglected to clean the windows. Send them up with a ladder tomorrow and I'll get them. The glow brackets need dusting as well." She squeezed Shirisa's hand tightly in hers and smiled. "Go get your rest."

The headwoman chuckled and headed down stairs, calling back, "And tend the master before he tries to come down!"

"Of course!" she called back over her own shoulder with mock indignation, then tore up the stairs faster than she ever had before. She didn't even knock before she threw the door open, not even bothering to shut it as she ran to his bedroom. Once at the door she stopped and gathered herself, giving herself a nice shake to clear her head some.

"Master Aurum?" she called, stepping into the room. "Master... whatever, is gone."

But he wasn't in the bed where she had left him.

Her heart nearly stopped, and she spun around. "Master Aurum!" she called again, more frantically this time. There was no way he could have gotten that far, not after what that... _monster_ had done to him.

And where ever he was, she realized, he wasn't wearing his clothes, as her eyes fell on the pile at the foot of the bed.

After another heartbeat, the door to the necessary opened and Aurum made his slow, painful way through the opened door of the large room. He had not walked on that injured foot without the shoe before, at least in front of her, and it was readily apparent just how painful a procedure it was as he more dragged it than lifted. His cane looked as if it might bow under the amount of weight he was putting on it.

Hearing the creak of the door, Honoria spun. "Master, you have to be more careful!" she admonished him, rushing to his right side to help take the weight off his injured leg. It was almost comical, with how much shorter she was.

"I didn't want to lie in my own urine," his voice was tired, almost bitter. "Did you remove Lardass?"

"He got the idea," was all she said, not wanting to bring up the healer's parting words. She helped him across the room and back to his sleeping room, standing on her toes to give him more support. "I'll get this all cleaned up," she said scornfully. "That man was a complete moron."

"No. He was a Master Healer and well trained in his profession. He is, however, a total arse." He sighed and sank onto the bed, his entire body trembling with the efforts of the last few minutes.

"No, he's a moron," she insisted, going to the medicine cabinet and getting out the supplies. By now she had tried several other recipes, and despite what the healer had said she thought she had seen at least a little improvement. "I've read about alternatives to antibiotics. There are ways beyond that... barbaric suggestion." She shuddered and covered her hands and arms in redwort, an action so ingrained now that she barely thought about it.

The sound of hurried boot steps on the stairs rang loudly. Someone with a very sure step was approaching quickly.

Ria looked up in surprise, pausing before she tipped the numbweed oil into its pan. "Who's there?" she called.

A tall thin man dressed in black riding leathers strode in without bothering to knock. He had a long cloak over his shoulders, for warmth. His dark eyes, wind mussed hair, and hooked nose made him look like a raptor on the prowl. "Shirisa said you need medicine?" His voice was silky smooth, but nothing like Aurum's. He wore the cord knots of a bronzerider.

"I..." she blinked, taking in the entire image in front of her. "Yes, I do," she said finally. She glanced up at Aurum and asked softly, "Do you mind if he's in here? It's some bronzerider."

Aurum pushed himself to his elbows, frowning. When he saw the man, no recognition lit his eyes. To him, it was just another rider. "If you wish it, Honoria," his voice was tight and tired. He leaned back.

"S'varas." The rider looked in the cabinet. "I am _not_ a healer." He nodded and started removing several jars and canisters, pulling out a small metal bowl. "What is the injury? The symptoms?"

Ria had stepped to the side and just stood there as the bronzerider went about. The name sounded familiar, but there were so many dragonriders these days... "Seven turn old break," she murmured, intimidated by the man in a way that even Aurum didn't do to her. "Swelling, sores that weep and need to be lanced..."

The Master Weaver interrupted saying, "not a break. It was a sword wound."

"Oh..." she said, taken aback by that. Had she been told that in the beginning? Was she just so tired she was confusing things? To cover her confusion she moved to S'varas, wringing her hands. "I've been using a wrap of numbweed on the ankle itself," she murmured, "and this poultice for the lanced sores." She indicated the jars.

He looked over the poultice then turned and inspected the ankle, first, followed by the wound on Aurum's thigh. With a nod, he asked in a neutral tone, "Are you trained?"

"No, Bronzerider S'varas," she answered nervously. "I like to read, though. I've gone through everything the Ista healers had."

He nodded briefly then turned back to the cabinet and some mixture he was making in the bowl. "I see. You did well for no training. I will send my books for your perusal." He finally turned to watched Aurum, who'd seemed to relax a bit since he wasn't being prodded.

"A sword wound... it will need a very deep, painful cleaning. Something must be trapped in the wound that keeps causing infection. Antibiotics do not work, do they?"

"No, they didn't," she said. She took a step closer to the bed, a look of wonder in her eyes. "Something still trapped in the wound... why didn't anyone think of that at the time?"

S'varas looked up from his concoction. "Swelling and blood clots could have hidden it. As well, if they thought it was a break and not a penetration wound, they may have not known to look. Even a Master can be brought down by misinformation."

Swallowing deeply she looked down at the pale and drawn Aurum, reaching for his hand once more and twining her fingers around his. She felt guilty, as if she should have caught it herself, but the chances of that were miniscule. She wanted to say something, but knew that almost anything would be met with scorn. "So I guess in the future we forget the Healers and go straight to the dragonriders," she murmured to him finally.

The bronzerider stopped and looked at her, an odd look on his face. Then, as if she were being ridiculous, his lips quirked and he said "I am a Master Medicine Crafter. Not all riders know their urethra from their rectum..."

She blushed and ducked her head, not having meant for the rider to hear her comment. "Is there anything you need me to help you with?" she asked instead.

"Yes. I have other duties. I am also assistant to the Islinne Weyrlingmaster." He handed her the bowl, pulling a slip of hide over and starting to write in a small neat hand. "I will give you the recipe I created. It is simple and requires no heat element, but plenty of honey. If you need honey, remind the Farmcraft that it is for the Master Weaver. They will send it." At that, he pushed the hide towards her and looked over at Aurum. With a bow, he said "My duty, Master Aurum." He turned to her. "Ask someone for help if he fights the cleaning. It will hurt a great deal and could require cutting to find what is stuck." With that, he bowed to her. "My duty, Lady Honoria."

With that, he was striding quickly from the hall, calling back, "clean it before using the salve."

She took all the information in quite well she thought, though it was a lot at once. "Thank you, Bronzerider S'varaus," she said to his back as he strode away. "And I'll make sure to take good care of those books... thank you again." She was quite frankly overwhelmed by the generosity of the bronzerider.

She was turning back to begin the cleaning process when she suddenly realized that yet again, she had been mistaken for Lady Honoria. She blushed and looked up at Aurum, hoping he had been too lost in his pain to catch that.

Continued in Chapter Nine


	9. A Taste of Honey

All That Glitters: 09 of ?

A Taste of Honey: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.04

On the landing, an apprentice stopped, panting, his arms laden with medical supplies to replace what had been used, his blond hair plastered to his head. He had a heavy wherhide pack slung on his back, whitening the tanned skin visible under his short tunic sleeves. He looked at the huge door with the ugly iron bits, wondering what everyone else had in the Hall: why put that iron work on that old door? There didn't seem to be any purpose except to make it look ugly. His grey eyes narrowed in contemplation... was that a pattern in the metal and wood?

Soon he'd caught his breath and gulped. No more excuses... he'd have to go in there. He'd only ever seen The Master a couple of times and never up close. At times it seemed like the man was just a rumor... a story to scare the apprentices with. "If you don't do what you're told, you'll answer to Master Aurum," was a common refrain in the classrooms. With the dread bourne of two turns of rumors and threats, the apprentice reached out a hesitant hand and knocked on the large door.

The heavy door flung open immediately, like someone had been sitting there on the other side waiting. Someone had, in fact: Honoria. "The supplies, thank you!" she said with a bright smile. She managed to shift some of the load to her own arms and headed back into the room, expecting him to follow.

"Uh..." Chyp gulped nervously then followed the woman into the vast, now well lit, room. His eyes widened, mind boggling at the sheer size and the immense jumble of items. He followed Honoria closely, but his eyes wandered everywhere.

"They can go right here," she told him, more cheerfully than she'd spoken since she arrived. An area of one of the tables had been cleared off for her own little work station... Aurum hadn't complained yet so she assumed she was going to get away with it. "Thank you again. I've had so much to do this morning the thought of running back up and down those stairs one more time..." she gave an exaggerated sigh.

The apprentice nodded. "Yes'm. And where do I put these books?" He slid the supplies onto the table then pulled the heavy pack from his shoulder with a grimace.

"Books?" she looked confused for a moment, then recognition lit her face. "Are they from Islinne Weyr?" she asked excitedly, snatching the bag from his arms. It was heavier than she expected and immediately went to the floor, but she simply fell to her knees and began pulling out the precious information she needed. "Faranth," she whispered, looking at each tome as if it were as rare and valuable as one of Master Aurum's collection.

In a way, they were.

"Uh, Ma'am?" He gulped again. "Shirisa said I was to help you, uh, tend the... Master?" He said the last word on a whisper, his face a bit paler and his hands trembling.

"What?" she asked, completely having forgotten he was there while drooling over the books. "Oh, that's wonderful," she said, giving him a reassuring smile. He was obviously frightened, but Shirisa's generosity would be of great use to her today. "And please, call me Ria." Pushing herself up to her feet she took one of the bags of medical supplies. "Okay, can you take the books and move them to my room? There's plenty of shelves for them," she pointed with one hand towards the end of the long hall where her alcove was. "And after that..." her eyes trailed meaningfully towards the tall ladder and window cleaning supplies.

The lad nodded and hefted the sack of books into the tiny former office. He put them carefully on a shelf near the door, one by one, making sure not to damage them. Finally finishing his delicate work, he'd never seen such books in his present life, he walked back into the big room and waited patiently, trying not to wet himself with fear.

While the apprentice was busy with her books, Ria practically skipped into the Master's rooms, using both arms to carry the basket. Bedridden from the pain of the cleaning last night, his color had still improved. She smiled even brighter upon seeing him. "Bronzerider S'varas sent the books he promised," she told the Master while she restocked the medicine cabinet.

Aurum looked up from his inventory log, which he had not yet passed on to Ria. He seemed comfortable at the moment because he smiled at her. "Well, with all of the sunshine you're letting in, I believe you'll need this." He held up the book. "To categorize the collection, Honey."

She took the book from his hands and opened it, reading enough in to realize what it was. "Of course, Master," she said, "I'll get to work on it as soon as we've tended your leg fully."

His voice took on that honeyed tone. "My name is Aurum, Honey."

Pausing, a strange expression crossed her face then finally settled into a smile. "Aurum," she repeated softly.

After a long moment of watching her features, he chuckled. "Who're you entertaining out there?"

"Hm?" she blinked and turned away from him, the only way she seemed to be able to think fully sometimes. "Oh, he didn't even tell me his name, the poor boy. Just one of your many terrified apprentices." Her voice was light and playful, and she winked at him.

The Master chuckled and said, "Well, if he dares come in here, I'll have to growl. I am The Monster, after all." Of course, that would make it more difficult as the boy had been sent to help her tend the master's leg.

Ria giggled as she bounced to the door to go retrieve the second bag of supplies. "I'm sure there's paint out here," she said with a mischievous grin. "Then we could really scare him. But don't worry too much. I have him cleaning those bloody tall windows." With that she was back out into the large room, to get the second bag.

...to find the apprentice just standing there. She stopped and blinked at him, her smile faltering a bit. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Ma'am? Shirisa said I was to help you tend the Master. I was Healer Hall born." He looked nervous. "I got sent here to apprentice because I'm so handy with thread and needle. My mother wanted me at the Tailor Crafthall, but my father refused. This was the compromise."

"Oh my," she said faintly. She'd expected him to be just another apprentice, sent here on busy work, but he actually could be of help. Then her smile returned, twice as bright as before. "This is wonderful! And my name is Ria," she repeated again, changing directions quickly and going to her alcove. "Bronzerider S'varas sent these," she said, "so the answer is in here. Before anything can be done we have to find out more about removing a foreign substance."

"That Master's got something stuck in his leg? Then you'll need lots of light and something to hold the sides of the wound open... and something to pull it out. What's he got stuck? Bit of wood? Broken bone? Maybe some rock?" His tone suddenly went brisk and it was apparent he had grown up around healers.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but instead said, "I'm not certain." The Master had only said it to the healer. It wasn't her place to tell that secret, not unless he gave her leave first. "Have you ever done anything like this?" she asked, a little anxiously. To read it in a book, look at diagrams and pictures, was one thing. The thought of actually performing such an operation was terrifying.

He shook his head. "I've seen it done almost every day. It's worse in the head or throat or chest. Leg's are easier unless it's near a blood vessel. Or..." he paused, looking a bit more nervous, "they looked easier."

She bit her lip, the high she'd been on since throwing the healer from the Hall yesterday finally fading. It suddenly occurred to her that she could just more easily kill the Master than help him, even if she read every medical book on the planet. Swallowing past a sudden lump in her throat, she asked, "Do you think you can go through these books and find anything relevant to this? Set them aside, and we can study them more indepthly once they're sorted."

He nodded. "I could do that... Ria," he said the name hesitantly then continued with more confidence, "But when I put them on the shelves I could see what they were. They're Medicine books not Healer books. They'll talk about what to do to gather plants and cure them and turn them to medicine... what can't be used together and what can... and what's best for what. Those'll teach you to make medicine... but they usually talk about plagues and infections, not surgery." He tilted his blond head and watched her nervously. "You gonna faint?"

"No, I'm fine," she said weakly. Of course all the answers wouldn't be right there, it was too easy.

He interrupted her, "'cause I can send for a real healer, if you want? They'd know how to debride a wound. Uh... that means clean it out."

Now she ducked her head in embarrassment. "I don't know if they will," she said, shamed. "I threw Master... something out of the Hall last night."

At that, the apprentice threw back his head and laughed. "You and the Master both. I hear he's thrown out more healers than probably exist on the Northern Continent." He grinned at her, displaying a gap in his teeth where one had been knocked out in some accident.

"Do you think you could get someone to come?" she asked, looking at him hopefully. "Someone who wouldn't just want to... chop his leg off?"

The color in the apprentice's face drained and he stopped laughing. "Uh... chop his leg off? Just how bad is this injury? What'd he get stuck in there?" He watched her with a frown as she moved back into the Master's room with the rest of the supplies, but he didn't follow her or shout after her. Instead, he glanced at the windows and shrugged, rolled his sleeves up, climbed onto the ladder, and started scrubbing, waiting for her to return.

Aurum watched Ria at her busy work. He frowned, his eyes darkening in worry. "What's happened, Honey? I thought I heard your friend laughing, but you don't look like you enjoyed the joke." His voice was low, slow, calculating. He sounded sure that whoever the apprentice was, he'd either offended Ria or upset her. Carefully, trying not to jostle his leg, Aurum began to pull his sleeping fur off, uncaring that he was only wearing shortpants. He would see to that apprentice; no one was allowed to hurt Ria. Aurum's frown was getting more fierce with every passing second.

"Don't even think of getting out of that bed," she chided him, not turning from the medicine cabinet. She finally straightened up and smiled at him, though the brightness was dimmed. "He's actually trained in some healing... he's seen the surgery that will need to be done to remove... ," her voice broke and she spun back to the cabinet, now just moving things around busily. "He's going to be extremely helpful," she finished after a moment.

Still frowning fiercely, Aurum lay back against his pillows, pulling the sleeping fur over his left leg. He left the injured right leg uncovered. He merely watched her, that fierce frown on his face. "And what makes you think an Apprentice Weaver knows more than a Master Healer?

"Because between the two of us I think we've managed to piss off every single healer on Pern," she said, an attempt at levity. "How does your leg feel?" she asked briskly, changing the subject.

Aurum let out a chuckle, his face relaxing and his eyes dancing with a playful golden light. "Ah, but I have yet to anger the weyr healers, Honey... would you have me stop now when I am so close to my goal?" He avoided her question for the moment.

She gave him that strange look again then began to laugh, shaking her head. "Then perhaps I will have to steal a dragon to go find us a healer after all."

"Hmph..." He shook his head, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "Too bad the healers I've seen aren't more like your bronzerider. He, at least, made sense. Everyone always says I need to chop the leg off. He's the first one to say we should find out why it's infected." He dropped his arms and leaned forwards. "Proactive instead of reactive. That's what makes a good healer." But he was frowning again, staring into his glass, normally used for water at night, now half full of wine. His eyes were drooping a bit. "Honey..." he drew the word out. "I drank that while you were playing with the apprentice... what did you put in it? What did you do to me?"

"Just a tiny bit of fellis," she said softly, having begun the process of laying out the supplies to clean his leg while he spoke. "Shirisa gave it to me and told me how to sneak it to you, since your stubborn arse won't listen to anyone." She sat on the edge of the bed, the pan next to her. "Now how about you stop driving me insane by being the worst patient ever and just let me help you?"

Aurum slid a hand over hers, taking it and bringing it to over his heart, which beat slow and steady. "Is Honey feeling neglected?" His voice had dropped to that molten honey tone once more, his eyes dark and mysterious behind their gold flecks.

She smirked at him, squeezing his hand gently. "Your ﾑHoney' has just figured out it's much easier to deal with you if I drug you first," she said teasingly.

"And what kind of deal did my Honey want to make?" He lifted her hand to his lips, but didn't touch it to his mouth. His eyes stayed steady on her the entire time.

Her mouth went dry and she once again made the mistake of looking into his eyes. "I... I should tend your leg, Master," she said, remembering when he'd caught her after she fell from the stool suddenly.

"Aurum," he corrected softly.

"Aurum," she repeated, a smile quirking at the edge of her lips. "Now are you going to be good and let me do my work, Aurum?"

The master chuckled low. "Does Honey want me to be good?" He put emphasis on the last word, but didn't clarify. He gently tugged her hand, unbalancing her a bit.

She felt the heat of flush rushing into her face again. "Aurum," she began, not having any idea how to respond. But she didn't try to pull back from him, and she felt her heart thud painfully in her chest.

"If you wanted me to be good, Honey, you shouldn't have given me fellis..." He pulled her that last little bit, running his other hand into her hair and pulling her head down to brush his lips over hers.

A loud knocking on the door sounded and Aurum stiffened, pushing her back from him hurriedly. His face was once more fierce and he was glaring at the door. "What the blazes do you want?" his roar was enough to lend credence to every rumor of the monster. There was no hint of the gentle lover about him, fellis induced or otherwise.

Though his shove nearly knocked her off the bed with its unexpectedness, she tried to regain her composure. "I'll take care of it," she said hurriedly, leaping from the bed and nearly running to the door. All the time her lips tingled... her first kiss, stolen by a man who quite possibly could be insane.

She swung the door open, hoping that she didn't look nearly as flustered as she felt. "I'm sorry," she murmured to the terrified apprentice, "I was just about to clean Master Aurum's leg... ," she trailed off, realizing her blouse had slipped, revealing one creamy shoulder. Her face flared again and she jerked it back into position. "Can you see if you can find anyone who can do the surgery?" she asked, looking anywhere but at the apprentice. "Shirisa's firelizard can take messages... check the Weyrs, he apparently hasn't tortured them yet."

The boy nodded flushing at Ria's brief exposure, not prepared to argue with her or the Master. He'd be flamed before he went in there anytime soon. The man sounded angry as a queen dragon with a missing egg. Turning without a word, Chyp ran down the long room and out the huge wooden door, letting it shut behind him with a thump.

Aurum glared at the door, arms crossing over his chest once more. "Damn impudent whelp," he growled out.

All the stress went out of her like a deflated bladder and she burst into laughter. "You are utterly and completely insane," she said to him, a fondness in her voice. "Finish that wine. You went and worked yourself all up and I need to clean your leg." Then she glanced back at the door and cursed, stamping her foot. "I didn't even catch that poor boy's name."

The master picked up his glass and stared into the laced wine. "Name's Chyp," he murmured. "Came to us because his parents didn't know what to do with him. Should've gone to the Tailors really, but he might make an Orrus Weaver yet." With that reference to the coveted and very small clique of lace and metal weavers, Aurum downed the rest of his glass in one breath. He put the glass back onto his night stand and looked at her with one quirked eyebrow, a gentle challenge.

"Chyp, hm?" she repeated, returning to his side and sitting down once again. She didn't make the same mistake this time, going straight to cleansing her hands with the redwort and getting the numbweed and bandages. "He was very helpful."

"A bit young for you, I think, Honey," his voice was playful once more. "He's not even a senior apprentice yet."

She gave him a wry look as she began to unwind the bandages from his leg, one eyebrow quirked upwards. "Really?" she asked, amused. "You steal my first kiss without my permission, and then you're jealous of some silly little apprentice. If I didn't know better I'd think you might be growing fond of me." She sat her tools out on the tray after disinfecting them, trying to focus on those little things that had become so familiar to her and not the man who was still making her heart race.

Aurum didn't move, his breathing slow and controlled. He kept his eyes on her every move, a soft frown on his face as she talked. Finally, he reached out and touched the back of her wrist. "I never meant to steal from you, Honey. A lady's first kiss should be from someone she cares for." His voice was serious, almost sad sounding.

She blushed and smiled, looking over her shoulder at him. "Maybe you didn't steal it then," she said, shy and soft.

With a sigh, he merely nodded, as if lost in deep thoughts. He never once complained or even stirred as she cleaned the wound and re-bandaged it.

She finished as quickly as she could, hands still gentle as could be. S'varas' concoction had made her job easier, even if it caused the Master more pain. When she was done, and had washed her hands and disposed of the waste, she went back to his bed and tugged the furs back up around him. "Tired, hm?" she asked.

"Drugged, Honey... you drugged me..." his voice was neutral, not accusatory. The dullness was almost terrifying in such a passionate, volatile man. The gold did not dance in his eyes at the moment he looked at her; instead, he seemed sleepy and withdrawn.

"Well if you weren't so difficult... ," she smiled at him. Even if the dullness was frightening, it was less frightening than seeing him in pain. He might be angry tomorrow, but she'd sleep well that night at least. "Oh," she said, suddenly returning to the bed and leaning across.

She pressed her lips against his hesitantly, trying to recreate the moment from earlier, but clumsy enough to prove that he was indeed her first kiss. She leaned back, face flushed but smiling. "Fair's fair, right?" she whispered.

His eyes had closed during the kiss and he slowly opened them, looking at her. "Remind me later there's another thing to teach you." His voice held a faint hint of the playfulness, but it was more weary than anything. He was making a great effort to stay awake.

"Go to sleep," she murmured, brushing his hair back from his face. Unable to help herself she gave him one more quick peck on the lips then got the pitcher of water and a new glass from his desk and poured him a fresh glass for the night. She paused at the door and turned back and shyly said, "Sleep well... Aurum."

"Honey..." came his sleepy voice.

Continued in Chapter Ten


	10. Playing Healer

All That Glitters: 10 of ?

Playing Healer: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.05

The next afternoon, when Ria came up with her tray with their lunch, the door to Aurum's private room was shut. There was a soft grunting, almost groaning noise coming from the other side. Suddenly, Aurum's voice hissed, "just a little more..." He sounded strained.

Alarmed, she dropped the tray and flung the door open. "Aurum?" her voice thin with worry.

As soon as the door opened, he grabbed the furs with one hand and threw them over himself, covering his legs and lap. He looked flushed and his hand was covered in a milky white substance mixed with a bit of red.

Her face paled and she rushed to his side, throwing open the medicine cabinet. "What are you doing you idiot?" she snapped, throwing back the furs.

His other hand was clutching a pair of long pliers, normally used for orrus work, and he had them deeply embedded in his wounded thigh. "I was almost there, Honey." His voice was pained but defiant, and he did not look away.

"And what if you had hit an artery? Are those even sterilized you great floundering moron?" She got out the tray and her supplies, cursing under her breath. "Tell me the truth, are you just trying to kill yourself? Because if you are I'm going to be very irritated at the time I've lost trying to keep you alive."

Rolling his eyes slightly, he kept his hand steady on the instrument, not allowing her to touch it or to move his hand. "Why would I want to kill myself? There are half a dozen men waiting at the Hold to do that for me." His voice was harsh. "And, yes, I sterilized it first. Do you take me for a fool rather than foolhardy?"

"You skip over that line all day long," she answered snippishly. "Why didn't you just wait for me to come back?" she asked then, voice softer. The flash of anger had only been covering the fear underneath. "I don't even know how to get that out..."

Aurum moved his free hand back down to his leg and began once more to carefully manipulate the pliers. "It would be like trying to remove a piece of fine jewelry from a crevice in the floor, Honey. You need be careful. It's delicate work. And you are going on feel more than sight. But..." and he winced and groaned a bit, still working. "But... if you are patient, you can find the blasted thing and coax it out." He stopped moving and took a shaky breath, resting for a moment, face flushed and sweaty from his efforts.

She winced and held her breath at every small movement he made, barely able to contain a whimper. "Why can't you wait for the healer?" she asked, voice shaky. She'd done nearly as bad to him while cleaning the wounds, but watching him do it to himself twisted everything inside of her.

He took a deep breath and stayed still, turning his pain-filled eyes to her. "Because every healer wants to chop it off and save himself some time. It took them seven turns and they still haven't figured it out." He lowered his eyes and with a soft grunt began to work again. "It took a medicine crafter, not healer, to figure out something might be in there. I plan to find out just what it is."

Seeing the pain undid her, and the tears she was barely holding back started to fall. "But we know what's wrong now and Chyp has seen healers fix it. They can do it without hurting you so much!"

At the sound of her voice, he stopped, looking at her in some surprise. "Does it worry you that much, Honey?" His voice was filled with wonder.

"Of course it does, stupid," she muttered, knuckling at her eyes with her fists.

"Will wonders never cease? Next they'll tell me queens are fighting and dragons are falling from the skies!" He left his hand on the instrument but leaned back, dropping his other hand. "Then get Chyp and we'll have this ended." His voice had softened. "And please don't cry for me, Honey. You're far too beautiful to cry."

She nodded, even though she didn't stop crying. The bandages she'd brought out in hopes of fixing the problem herself she used to pad the area he had cut, careful not to touch the instrument but trying to stop some of the bleeding and pus. "Please don't move until I get back?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"I promise," his voice was solemn, "except to breathe, of course." The last was added in his playful tone.

She made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh, and quickly stood. "I'll be back," she promised, then left the room at a run, nearly slipping in the remains of lunch on her way out the door.

She took the steps at such a speed she was almost flying when she reached the lower floor. The momentum sent her spinning out of control, and she barely kept herself from falling. "Shirasa!" she yelled, managing to keep panic out of her voice somehow. "Shirasa! I need help!"

The woman came at as near a run as she could with her knees so bad. "What is is, Ria? Has the master fallen? Oh my flaming shells!" She lifted her skirts, heading towards the stairs.

"No!" she said, grabbing the Headwoman's arm. "He's taken a pair of pliers and is trying to remove whatever is in his leg on his own," she hissed. "I need Chyp. And a healer. Maybe. I don't know. I don't think we can do this on our own and he's already made such a mess..."

"Shell of Faranth!" she breathed. "I'll send my Brown." She turned and hurried for the kitchen.

"Wait, ask Chyp first!" she called. "He's seen this surgery done. He'll know who to contact!"

She turned and nodded. "He's from Landing and the Healer Hall. We'll need to send for one of his people." She hurried out to find the apprentice weaver.

Ria turned and went for the stairs, in a rush to get back to her- the Master. A knock on the door sounded loudly, and she spun back around. "Shardit," she muttered, running back down and going to the door hurriedly. She grabbed the handle and dragged it open with more force than necessary.

On the other side of the door stood two men. One was a six foot redhead with blue eyes and bronzerider cords. The other was a man with black hair, laughing brown eyes, and a worried frown. The darker man was carrying a healer's bag, and his rank denoted him a Junior Journeyman.

The redhead took off his goggles, running them through his fingers absently. His voice was gentle as he said "We got here as quickly as we could."

Ria's mouth fell open and she took a step backwards. "But..." she stuttered, turning back to the kitchens. "How... Shirisa just..." Finally she just shook her head, not caring for the moment. "The Master is upstairs," she said without any further ramblings and turned to show them the way. She didn't slow down for them as she had the master healer, taking them three at a time all the way to the top.

She burst through into Aurum's room, her heart nearly dropping from her chest when she saw he had listened to her and hadn't moved the pliers. "Thank Faranth," she murmured, rushing to his side. "Thank you, thank you," she whispered to him. "There's a healer here."

The healer moved swiftly past her but didn't seem bothered she was there. Instead, he instantly opened his bag and started washing in redwort. Glancing at Aurum, he grinned widely and said, in a light tone, "Oh, looks like you got a leg attached to your pliers."

Aurum blinked and stared at the man an unfathomable look in his eyes.

With a flick of his hands, the healer shook them dry and reached into his bag to lay out his supplies, among them was a tool very similar to the pliers Aurum had been using. He smiled at Honey. "Name's Haukaye. What do I call you... or do I just worship you in silence?"

Stiffening, Aurum's eyes narrowed, and the other man seemed to realize he'd overstepped some boundary because he laughed and added, "On second thought I'll let the master worship you while I get to work." He started humming, inspecting the wound.

"So, got sick of bed rest and decided to do a little fishing on your own, hmmm?" He nodded. "Ah ha... I see... not fishing..." He gently took the pliers in one hand and used them to push aside the flesh in his way. With his own surgical long-nosed hemostats, he slipped into the wound and probed a bit. With a small laugh, he pulled something covered in pus and blood from deep in the thigh. "I'd guess mining was more like it, yes?"

Shock filled Aurum's eyes, though the object was indistinguishable covered as it was. Instead, he paled, glancing down at the thigh. It was seeping blood.

"Uh oh... healer! We need a healer!" Haukaye signalled to the rider with a quick jerk of his head. "Catch him." His tone was a serious order.

The rider leapt forward with reflexes born of long training, and he caught Aurum just as the master's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out. Ria let out a small cry when the hand in hers went limp, and she looked at Haukaye with horror in her eyes.

Haukaye didn't seem worried, instead grabbing a series of smaller hemostats and clenching the wound edge open with them. When finished, the wound was wide, oozing, and very angry looking. Haukaye carefully eased the master's pliers from the thigh and tossed them onto the table, next to his surgical tool, with the mystery object still clenched. His tone was once again light and playful. "Well, maybe fishing was correct after all. I've found a river." He rinsed his hands in water, letting it spill on the floor, then tossed redwort over his hands once more. "I'll need the thread and needle, beautiful one." He gave her a wink. "It's time to bring this show to a close."

The redhead was still carefully supporting Aurum's unconscious frame.

She stared at the healer for so long that he had to have begun to think something was wrong with her head then she snapped back. "Of course," she said, her voice firm and with no hint of the terror she was feeling. She'd shoved it all down for now: later she would collapse and cry herself out. She dipped her own hands in the redwort before moving to the open bag and removing the needle and thread. "What do I need to do?"

"Hand me the needle and make sure this hemostat stays still, love." His tone was softer, more serious, but held the edge of humor still.

Nodding instead of responding, she dipped the needle before handing it over, then moved again to be closer to Aurum. It took her a moment, but then she took a deep breath and moved her hands next to Haukaye's, taking over the hemostat.

"And away we go!" Haukaye started stitching the vein inside the leg, his hands moving slowly, carefully, as he worked. There was no sound of laughter or joking, but he did hum the Naming Song as he worked. Suddenly, he threw out "Megajumpeth" and went back to humming. He got to another part and called out merrily "S'exy" and kept going with his humming and ridiculous changes to the dragon and rider names he was using.

After he finished in one area, he worked in another, occasionally asking her to rinse the wound with water or to wipe his head of sweat or to have her scrape out some of the infection. The entire time the rider was supporting the fortunately unconscious weaver. It was several hours, the sun was descending, when Haukaye suddenly said "Ta da!" and began sewing the thigh wound shut, quickly removing hemostats as he went.

The healer finished stitching the last part closed, sing-songing "And he thought any master could be a healer. Ha!" He cut off the thread.

Once everything was done, Ria's shoulders slumped and she hung her head so that her hair would hide her tears. _I should have been watching him_, she thought angrily, _this never should have happened_. This panicked afternoon and evening... it all could have been prevented.

"Cry a tear for me, too, beauty." Haukaye's voice was soft. He cleaned and dried his hands then began bandaging the wound. "Or was it my singing?" He nodded. "Definitely my singing." With a soft nudge of his elbow against her, he said "I'll let you keep the bugger as a souvenir if you wish."

Using possibly the only part of her dress still free of redwort and blood, she patted at her eyes and shook her head. "No, if he'd been awake he'd probably have joined in," she said in a wobbly voice. "And it would be just like him to want the damned thing to stare at every day." She gave a bitter bark of laughter. "What was it?"

A chuckle escaped the rider as he finally eased the Master back onto the bed then stood and stretched his aching back and shoulders. He removed his riding gloves and tucked them into his belt. "Let's see, shall we?" He asked in a soft voice. He smiled and took some more water, spilling it over the object and using some used cloth to wipe it. When he finished a few minutes later, he held up a bit of blackened, pitted metal.

Haukaye looked at it and grunted, "Sword tip." He started gathering his supplies, unconcerned about how the Master Weaver of Pern had gotten himself stabbed in the leg with a sword. "Those things can bite hard. Good thing he got it out."

Suppressing a shudder at the length of metal, she turned her attention back to cleaning her hands. "I... I don't know how to say thank you enough," she said humbly, bowing her head to both the rider and healer.

With a saucy grin, the healer leaned forward "I would normally say pay my assistant, but from you, I can take a kiss in payment." His tone was suggestive and he wiggled his eyebrows.

The rider shook his head and pulled the healer's shoulder, interrupting the moment. "Not now. I need to get you back to Landing. I've got a clutch waiting to hatching on the sands." He smiled at Ria. "I don't want to _take too much time_, after all." With that, he dropped the bit of metal on the table and retrieved his riding goggles from the floor where he'd dropped them when he rushed to help.

Heaving a lusty sigh, the healer nodded, bowed to Ria, and grinned widely. "Call me back any time, beauty. And don't let the man do any more mine fishing. He needs those bandages changed thrice a day, kept clean and as dry as possible, and call a healer if he develops a fever." The man offered a small canister of dark green tablets. "Here's an antibiotic... made of seagrass so it tastes and smells nastier than that wound, but they work wonders."

"I will," she said, clasping his hands momentarily. "Thank you," she whispered, close to tears once again. "I never even introduced myself. I'm Honoria."

"And I'm in love," he grinned back.

"And I'm H'ratio. Send for me again if you need someone... quick." The redhead bowed, smiled a sweet smile, and tugged at the healer's arm.

The healer added, almost wistfully, "If he refuses to make you his lady, I'm available..."

"Come, man!" H'ratio laughed.

Her face flaming red as H'ratio's hair, she quickly turned back to the bedding and the Master's clothing. She'd have to figure out someway to clean him up without hurting him further, but that was her problem.

The sound of the two men trotting down the stairs faded before a soft clearing of a throat came from the door to the large room. Chyp stood there, eyes wide. "Uh... that was a bronzerider! How'd he know? We only just sent the firelizard. No one could find him. Shirisa wanted me to tell you."

"But... he's been here since this afternoon," Ria said, putting a hand to her head to stop the pounding of stress and confusion. "He spent all afternoon and evening saving Master Aurum," her voice broke and she wavered where she stood.

Chyp whistled through the gap in his teeth and jumped forward, putting an arm around her. "Easy, Ria... come sit down. I'll clean up this mess... then we can clean the bed up after you've rested." He guided her to a chair then frowned. "Hey, have you eaten anything?"

Her eyes went to the broken plates and trampled food: all that remained from the lunch hours earlier. "Not since breakfast," she said, but she tried to force herself up out of the chair anyway. "I need to get him and his bed clean before I do anything," she said firmly.

"Oh, no you don't!" Chyp revealed his strength by pushing her right back into the chair. "Shards and Shells, woman! Shirisa will skin me if she finds you haven't eaten. You stay there or I'll tell her you moved!" He grabbed the water glass off the nightstand and slopped first water than liquid fellis into it, blocking her sight with his frame. Swirling the liquids in the glass, he turned and brought it to her lips. "Drink this now!"

At first she struggled, but then she sat back down, the tears she had promised herself to hold for later finally arriving. She clutched at Chyp's arm and sobbed, just shaking her head.

"C'mon, Ria, you're no good to him like this. If he wakes in the night he'll be wanting you. You need to rest." He let her hold him, his voice worried but he held the glass to her lips any way. "It's not much. I promise. Won't even make you sleep, just take the edge off, as my mother would say. Enough so you can feel your heart slow and you can breathe."

She finally took her hand off his arm and took the glass, obediently drinking it. She made a sour face and glared at him. "Fellis in water," she said, voice still slightly hysterical. "You're a bigger bastard than he is."

The apprentice winced, but nodded. "Well, he is my master, Ria." He finally let her go and reached for the bell pull to summon help from Shirisa.

Ria remained in the chair, feeling the numbness from the fellis blunt the edges of her shattered emotions. The entire time she stared at the man unconscious on the bed. He almost died today, she thought. The debt was useless to a dead man, and then she could have gone home to her father and her life.

And instead she'd helped save his life. It really made no sense. _Perhaps I'm just as insane as he is_, she thought. That made her giggle and before she knew it she was full out laughing.

Chyp gave her a strange look but started cleaning up the waste from the surgery without mentioning her odd behavior. Finally, he sighed. "Why is it a healer never cleans up after himself?"

Continued in Chapter Eleven


	11. Collecting Memories

All That Glitters: 11 of ?

Collecting Memories: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.10

Almost a sevenday had passed since Aurum's impromptu surgery. Haukaye had returned once since then to check his patient and declared him on the mend. Privately to Ria he mentioned that the infection had caused a fever and that was most likely why the master had tried it himself. Shortly after Haukaye left again, Aurum's voice came from his room.

"Honey?" He sounded stronger than he had the last few days, and there was a playful note in his voice which hadn't been there since he's been operated on. "When you're done flirting with that healer I would see you."

"You mean when he's done flirting with me," she said primly, though the cheerful glint was back in her eyes. "Apparently I'm an... _irresistible beauty_," she told him.

"Ha, as if you didn't know that already." He chuckled. "All eyes follow you in a room, Honey." He was sitting up in bed, his skin a healthier tone than she'd ever seen. He no longer had the slightly greenish cast which had seemed to be his natural coloring. Instead, his was merely pale for lack of sunshine, despite the cleaned windows.

"Hm, haven't had the opportunity to experience that because it doesn't count when it's your father." She gave him a quirky smile, one side up a little higher than the other. It was a recent habit, and one she hadn't even noticed. "And I suppose only the first one is the one that really matters so he was a little late anyway."

"I believe I neglected to thank you for saving my life."

She sat down on the edge of his bed, laughing. "I wouldn't be a very good assistant if I let you die within my first month would I?" she asked him.

He chuckled, the gold flecks in his eyes dancing in the afternoon sunlight. "Ah, but no one else would make you slave the way I do. You would be free."

Hearing the sentiment echoed that she had felt that night gave her pause. "But then I'd go back to my boring life, in that tiny house, slaving away all day for people who barely notice us..." she'd meant to be light, but the truth had somehow found its way through her confusion and fell out.

"Us?" He nodded. "Ah, yes, you live with your father." He shifted in the bed and pulled back the furs. "I'll try walking today. I'm tired of using a jar for my relief." His tone was light, a change in the painful subject.

"The exercise will be good for you," she agreed, going to the corner and fetching his boots that hadn't been touched in quite a while at that point. The clothes press was next, a fresh pair of trousers and a loose shirt. He wasn't going to a feast, after all.

When the painful process of dressing was done, he placed a hand firmly on her shoulder. After a breath, he pushed with his good leg and both hands, his eyes widening at the feeling in his leg. "The pain..." he whispered, as if to himself.

Eyes bright with joy, she came to her feet. "It's better?" she asked, not really even a question. It was clear from his face that the pain had receded greatly. She took his hands in her own, smile brighter than the sun coming through the windows. "Let me get your cane."

He nodded silently and watched her, not moving from his spot. It was true. His leg hurt some, but it was nothing to the searing, devouring pain he'd lived with for seven turns. It was almost... freeing.

She practically skipped across the room to retrieve his cane, where she had subtly placed it, as far away from his bed as possible, just in case he got it in his head to go wandering in the middle of the night. She brought it back, running her fingers across the top before she handed it back to its owner.

Taking the metal and wooden object with a bow, he set the tip on the floor and leaned on it. He didn't lean as heavily as before. With a nod, he began to walk, slowly, across the floor towards the outer room and the necessary that lay beyond. Once in the large room, he stopped and looked around. "Well, you have been busy, Honey," he chuckled.

"Yes, it's amazing what can be accomplished when you're not trying to die behind my back," she said, stepping past him. "It'll still be a few sevenday on the tapestries, but I'm told the cleaning is going wonderfully." She'd brought in a few touches of her own, also: flowers she'd gathered, things that gave off sweet scents. Her alcove overflowed with them, and a small vase rested on her work table.

"And no more tapestries over the windows," she added with a wag of her finger. "I've worked far too hard to clean this place for it to be hidden again."

He turned a surprised look on her and laughed outright. "Honey, why would I want to cover the widows? A weaver needs his light."

"And yet you never had them taken down," she said with a smirk. "Come on. Get going. This is your first time walking. You shouldn't push yourself too hard."

He shook his head, chuckling, and walked into the necessary. Before shutting the door, he leaned out, holding the frame, and said with a laugh, "I asked many times but no one came to do it. Even a master's orders are nothing compared to an apprentice's fears." The door shut on his laughter.

She laughed also, leaning against her desk. "Then stop terrifying your apprentices!" she shot back.

Only moments passed before the master returned, drying his hands down his tunic like a boy might. "So, what have you discovered in this jumble of odds and ends?"

Her eyes lit up, and she turned to the table and grabbed two thick books: the first, his own accounts, the second, her own inventory. "I'll tell you everything," she said excitedly. "It's amazing... this collection," she looked back over her shoulder and gave a little sigh. "I keep finding things that everything I've ever read say no longer exist but then..."

He chuckled, pulled over a chair from the collection, seemingly at random and without noting that it was an elaborately carved wooden structure, and sank onto the old, yet well cushioned seat. "So you will tell me about my own collection?" He sounded very amused, playful and teasing. "Please do, Honey."

"You wouldn't be able to stop me if you tried," she said smugly, moving unerringly towards one of the tables nearest the windows. It took her moments to find what she was searching for, and she came back to him at a quick pace.

"Look at this," she told him, handing it to him as if it didn't belong to him. "That's a data disc for the Landing computers. Those were all supposed to have been destroyed... and it was sitting under a cup!" Her outrage was amusing.

With a shake of his head, he interrupted her. "No, the computers were destroyed... some data discs were rescued by one of the survivors when he escaped the waters. Since they were no longer accessible, he started using them as decorations. When I first received that, it was from an elderly woman in payment for a pair of warm cloaks. She had it tied on thread with several others, all dangling from a central disk. That one was the least damaged." He smiled. "I don't recall setting a cup on it but it may have happened," he teased, as if he doubted what she claimed.

She sank to the ground at his feet, her legs pulled up to her chin. She took the disc from him and held it up, letting the light catch it. "I wonder what's on it," she said in a hushed tone. Her books claimed that the discs held all the knowledge from before the First Crossing, but how could so much information be on such a tiny object? "So many treasures just gathering dust," she continued, more to herself than him.

He nodded, looking around again. "I couldn't care for it myself and I don't trust anyone to care for it without taking something." He sighed. "Well, I do trust Shirisa, but she can't make it up the steps with her joint disease." Turning slightly in the huge chair, he looked over at other objects. "Anything else you wish to tell me about my own collection?" His voice was playful. It was more realistic for her to be choosing objects and getting the story from him.

"Actually... ," she said, pushing herself to her feet with the nimbleness of youth. "I found something that I didn't even know what to list as." She went back across the room, placing the disc in the exact spot she had gotten it from. From there she went back, further from the windows, before stopping at a table. She picked up the item, a triangular box that seemed to have a spring inside of it when she pushed at it gently the first time she saw it.

She brought the box back to him almost reverently. "I've never seen any pictures of something like this," she said, returning to sitting at his feet as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "I just called it _weird shaped box_..."

Aurum laughed and touched one finger to the box. "That shape, Honey, is called a _triangle_..."

She stuck her tongue out at him and held the box up to him. "Just tell me what it is," she asked, a hint of begging in her voice, while she looked up at him with those big blue eyes.

He took it carefully from her fingers and fiddled with something on the bottom. After a moment, he flicked his fingers over the top edge of the dainty box, revealing a lid, which sprang open. Inside was a pair of figurines in fancy clothes, embracing. Music flowed from the box, tinny but beautiful, and the figures rotated and swayed a bit, as if they were dancing. Aurum held the box out to her with a smile.

"Oh," she breathed out, taking the box carefully. She settled it on her lap, entranced by the tiny dancers and the tinkling music. "It's so beautiful, Aurum... where did it come from?"

His smile turned wistful. "It was a hand-fasting present." He began to hum softly, then sang "before the turns began... the music never ends..." with a sigh, he stopped singing, gently flicking the lid shut, ending the music. "A master machinesmith crafted it."

She'd unknowingly leaned her head against his left knee while the music played, eyes closed while she listened to him. When the music ended abruptly she made a small embarrassed noise and sat up straighter. "It's lovely," she said softly. _A hand-fasting present... likely his wife's_, she thought sadly.

"Is it?" He shrugged and put it on a random table nearby. "I suppose it is. The bright gold on the gown is as vivid as when I gave it to her... of course gold doesn't fade if left untouched." His voice held some regret, but no real grief. "She actually said it was ridiculous that I would get something so expensive for her. I'm surprised I got it back after the attack."

"You loved her," she said quietly, unsure of the ground she was on. He had yet to speak of his family to her; all she knew came from Shirisa. "It wasn't ridiculous."

Master Aurum looked at her, studying her face, eyes, features, before answering simply, "I still do love her." He sighed and stretched his back a bit. "I wish she would have let me help her but she was always a headstrong lass. Even after the hand-fasting,she insisted on being so independent." He smiled a bit sadly. "And after that brutal..." he shuddered, "murder... I wonder if the independence is her way of masking the pain."

She looked up at him in confusion. "Tell me about her?" she asked finally. "How did you meet? How long before you were hand-fasted..."

He stiffened and looked at her, eyes looking darker. It was unclear if he were hurt or offended. Slowly, as if wanting to be perfectly clear, he said "She was a fosterling at Southern Boll when we were quite small. I've known her practically her whole life." Then he leaned back against the chair and frowned. "She always said I was the brother she never had." He continued to frown, not answering the second question.

Feeling uncomfortable, she shifted on the floor next to him. "It's almost lunch time," she said awkwardly. "Perhaps you should get back into bed."

Aurum didn't budge. Instead he asked, in a calm voice, "Who do you think I gave this to, Honey?" His fingers played over the musical box on the table.

His words were finally beginning to make sense, but she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud. "Please, Aurum," she said, asking him with those two words to please not make her say it.

He stood at that, letting his fingers drop from the box. "I..." he looked at her, sadly, "I was not aware you were friends with Lady Neleh, Honey. I apologize for the pain I caused you." He bowed stiffly then limped, on his own, back into his room.

Her breath caught in her throat at his words. She hadn't known the Lady, but everyone on Pern had heard of her... Her head bowed and hands folded in her lap, she continued to sit on the floor, at a loss once again for what to say or do.

Continued in Chapter Twelve


	12. Gather Celebrations

All That Glitters: 12 of ?

Gather Celebrations: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.16

The bell in the small former office rang for the first time since Ria had lived there. It was attached to a long cord which snaked into the floor below. No one had mentioned the bell to her, but someone was evidently ringing it. And the sun hadn't even crested the horizon yet.

On the edges of a beautiful, hazy dream, Ria nearly fell from her bed when the bell rang right above her head. Her hand over her chest, she had to wait several moments for her heart to return to a normal speed before she could even make sense of what had just happened. Then the bell rang again and her sleep fogged brain was able to make sense of it.

Moving as quickly as her half awake body would allow, she pulled her dress over her head and settled it neatly at her hips. After sliding her feet into her soft slippers, she padded her way from her alcove to the door, her hands lacing up the front of her bodice as she walked.

A quick glance showed her Master Aurum's door hadn't opened yet, so she slipped out of the room quietly and made her way down the staircase to the kitchens.

Shirisa was there with half the kitchen staff already awake and making breakfast. She caught a glance of Ria and smiled. "Oh, there you are, Ria. I'm glad you're prompt... not that I like to summon you, but today is different." She sounded excited.

She gave a little laugh. "I don't mind, but I do wish someone had warned me I had a bell above my head before I had to find out first hand."

With a deep chuckle, the headwoman nodded. "And I'd have thought you would have found it when you cleaned. Don't let the Master keep you from cleaning your own room, Ria." She turned to glare at a slowly moving man who was kneading bread. The man blanched and began to work in earnest. Shirisa turned back to Ria. "Well, I thought as you should know that you should get everything you need for the day right now, except of course food. The Hall will be fairly empty from sun up until well past sundown this day." Her voice was as excited as ever and she practically skip-shuffled over to check on the ovens.

"What's going on?" Ria asked, peering around Shirisa at all the industry in the kitchen. "Is there a Gather?"

"Oh, bless the little eggs, yes." She grinned, turning full towards her. "Of course, you'll be allowed to attend, but you see to Master first. And you'll be wanting a pretty dress to go in, not a work shift. Borrow what you like from the stores and log it."

A small snort came from the general direction of the laundry women washing sheets just outside the door in the predawn darkness. It wasn't clear who had made the sound, though. Ignoring whoever had made the noise, Ria clapped her hands in excitement. Her father, ever so terrified that she might stumble and stub her toe against the wall, had rarely allowed her to attend Gathers. And when he had, it had only been for short moments then, as she got older, working behind his wagon where the customers couldn't harass her. The thought of attending one as a guest was a thrill she'd never expected.

"I'll refill the medical stores," she said, though she was using less and less of them every day. It pleased her to keep them full, though. "Is there anything you need me to do to help you?"

"Oh, bless you, child," the headwoman sighed happily. "Yes. If you could find a cobbler at the gather and pass on the message that the Master will need new boots, it'd be a help." She turned and patted a spit dog, speeding him up a tad. "And, of course, see if the Master has any shopping for you to do for him. He doesn't like to go to these things with that leg of his." She beamed at Ria and hurried to help a younger woman with something pastry looking.

Her smile faded in the middle of Shirisa's words. The excitement of the Gather seemed to be tamped just a bit by the thought of not enjoying it with Aurum. But of course, his leg, she thought sadly. Since Shirisa had already hurried off she made her way to the stores, collecting the replacement supplies for upstairs, and headed back to the rooms a little sadly.

Once inside the big room, it was immediately obvious that Aurum had woken, too. His door was open and there were glows shining, despite the early hour. Shadows played across the floor; he seemed to be at his small work table.

Giving a deep sigh, Ria crossed the room to his work table. "What has you up so early?" she asked in a soft tone, taking the opportunity to notice that he had walked from his bed without his boots. "And you better say something important," she finished pointedly.

Looking up from his work, he smiled at her playfully. In his hands was the silver and gold lace work he'd left off crafting due to his impromptu attempt at self-healing. Now, he had finally begun again. "It's a gather day, Honey. Or did Shirisa fail to mention that?" He looked back at his hands, the jar of water between his face and his work, magnifying the delicate process for him. "She only rings that bell if it's a gather day or the Hall's on fire or if Thread falls. I hear no panic, so fire and Thread are most likely not the culprits."

She laughed and nodded. "Yes, I know it's a Gather day," she replied, walking back to the medicine cabinet near the bed and unburdening herself.

He looked up, his head turning to follow her every move. "You do wish to attend, don't you, Honey?" His voice was curious.

"Shirisa asked me to find your cobbler," she answered, "and I've never really gotten to enjoy a Gather." There was a little wistfulness in her voice.

"It's a rough crowd," his voice was dismissive as he looked back at his hands. "So many people jostling. Everyone loses his manners at a gather. And the stall lines are horrendous. The dancing square gets crowded so a body can hardly breath. Food's expensive, wine more so..." he didn't look up as he catalogued his complaints.

She couldn't help but laugh at his pile of reasons to stay away. "You make it sound like a hard thing to enjoy," she said, sliding into the seat he'd brought in that first night for her. "Tell me more of this atrocious affair."

Hearing something in her voice, Aurum looked up, lowing his work to the table. He looked at her a long moment before asking softly, "Would you like me to take you to the gather, Honey?"

She blinked her large blue eyes once then smiled. "Yes, I would actually. If it's truly as awful as you say I'll need someone to protect me while I find your cobbler, won't I?"

"Ha," he retorted. "The Master Cobbler never goes to Southern Boll gathers, Honey. He prefers to stay in his Hall in Keroon River until prodded with a large, sharp stick." She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that, giving him a look. He sat back in his chair, letting the work stay on the table. "So, you wish to tour the delights of one of Lord Warder Ziram's gathers..." he shrugged and picked up the work with one hand. "Fine, I'll take you. We'll need to dress up. That man likes to put on a show." He began to push himself to his bare feet.

Ziram... the color drained from her face when he said the name. She had just inadvertently asked him to accompany her to a Gather held by the man who had killed most of his family... had almost killed him. "If it's too much for your leg, I understand," she said quickly, moving immediately to help support him.

"My leg?" He leaned on her until he got to the bed. "My leg hasn't felt this well in turns." He at least wasn't lying to her. "You want to go to the gather. I will take you. I can't trust some foolish journeyman or your friend Chyp to protect you, can I?" He began to strip off his night clothes. "Most would leave you alone if you are with a master. Only fools would bother you when you're with me," he ended on a growl.

She thought to object again but stopped herself. It'd been nearly two sevendays since his half coherent promise the day he kissed her. She hadn't brought it up to him, embarrassed at her own forwardness in the situation and knowing that she had indeed drugged him. He probably didn't even remember.

But maybe he did. "Chyp's not that bad," she protested, going back to the medical cabinet. Now she just kept pre-wrapped rolls of bandages soaked in numbweed for easier access. She went for a tray further in the back, one that had been setting longer. If she was going to make him walk around she could at least do what she could to ease his discomfort. "Are your gather clothes up here?" she asked, never having noticed anything but comfortable and easy clothing in his wardrobe.

He chuckled outright. "I don't own gather clothes as I never attend any more."

"So I get to find clothes for both of us?" The thought delighted her: most of her own clothing had been cast offs of other family members, and even here she had been very sparing with what she took from the stores. The thought of being allowed to go all out on not just one, but two outfits, was enough to send her into a fit.

Aurum looked at the woman's expression and sighed, resigning himself to being used for dress-up. "At least choose colors that suit me. Nothing too... dazzling, Honey." He frowned, wondering just how he'd managed to volunteer to go to the blasted gather at Southern Boll Hold proper.

She returned his frown but followed it with a teasing, "So no green pants? No orange tunics? You are severely limiting me here, Aurum."

With a deep chuckle, he used his playful tone. "I shall wear a vest to rival the skies of Pern if it pleases my lady." He bowed at the waist.

By now their morning routine was second nature as she cleaned his leg, though it was healing wonderfully and hardly needed her, and then wrapped both his ankles tightly. "Do you want your boots now, or would you rather wait until I've found the gather clothing?"

"Oh, pleased Honey," his voice was strained. "Only put those blasted things on me once a day. I can hardly take my ankle being shifted so much." He lay backwards on the bed, as if exhausted, but his tone had turned playful and his eyes danced. "Of course, you could dose me with fellis but we both recall what happens then. Don't we, Honey?"

Once again he made her blush with the fury of a thousand suns. But instead of running, like she would have barely a month ago, she stood and gave a sniff. "Yes, you make promises to teach things that you never do," she said, flashing a grin at him. "I'll be back shortly with some clothing for both us. And I promise to find something befitting your station."

Too quick to see, Aurum's hand snaked out and he grasped her wrist, tugging her to the bed beside him. "So, it's teaching you want, Honey?" His voice had taken on that molten honey tone. Pushing up on one elbow, leaning close to her, he moved to nuzzle her neck. "I can teach you many things, my dear..."

Startled, she tumbled onto the bed with him. Her heart thudded painfully at his voice, and her breath caught in her throat the closer he got. This was what she had taunted him with, wasn't it? "And you want to teach me these things?" she finally managed to say breathlessly.

"Oh, I never do something I don't want to, Honey." His voice was a purr against her throat. "But the question is... do you want to learn what I have to teach?" One hand slipped down her neck to her shoulder, his clever fingers caressing a hot path.

Hesitantly she brought her hand up to his face, titling it upwards from her throat. Oh, she thought as her body seemed to melt, _the gold flecks in his eyes are even more vibrant than before_. "Yes," she said, barely more than a whisper, "teach me everything."

Continued in Chapter Thirteen


	13. Ruminations

All That Glitters: 13 of ?

Ruminations: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.16

A faint aching in her body pulled Ria unwillingly from her slumber, and she moaned a bit and curled closer to the warm body next to her, willing the pain away.

Warm body next to her... she opened her eyes slowly, blinking the sleep from them, to find herself in Aurumﾒs arms. He was still sleeping, hair tumbled across his eyes. The morning came back in a rush, and the aching suddenly made much more sense.

_So, there it is_, she thought, not lifting her head from his hard chest. _Or_, as Yonda had so nicely put it, _no better than she should be_. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears pricking at them. She cared for this man... a great deal. But in eleven months he would send her back to her father.

Making a small, strangled noise, she slid from the bed as quietly as possible, her slight weight barely moving the mattress. She reached for her dress, but then she remembered his hands at the laces, and her impatiently ripping them...

With no other choice, she slid the tunic he had been wearing over her head. Checking that he was still asleep, she slipped from the room and across the large hall. From there she listened at the door for any sounds, but it seemed Shirisa was correct: everyone had left for the Hold. Still, she was quick as she darted across to the bathing room.

Once in there she let the oversized tunic fall to the ground; she climbed into the steaming waters, hissing as certain areas of her body burned. She swallowed when she saw a tiny bit of blood, but it was quickly swirled away with the dirty water.

Ria went through the motions of washing her long hair, cleaning her body. There were a few light bruises, she noticed, and multiple nips along her chest. She ran her hand across one lightly, shivering as she remembered when he had made that.

_I should feel guiltier_, she thought vaguely. According to the way sheﾒd been raised, she had dishonored herself. But instead she felt freer than she ever had, even with the heavy knowledge that this couldnﾒt last forever.

Her eyes closed and she let herself float in the water, thinking back to the few friends sheﾒd had growing up. _Menilla was married off last Turn, she thought, to a cruel man that hit her nightly and turned her into a shadow of her former self. What had been the point for her to save such an important thing for such a horrible person?_

Ria shivered, remembering how gentle Aurumﾒs hands had been on her body, the way he had kissed her until she was no longer capable of coherent thought before finally taking her.

At least she wouldnﾒt be crying in the morning like poor Menilla with her now crooked nose and constantly blackened eyes. Even if it wasnﾒt forever, even if it was just that once, she found comfort in knowing it had been special.

Continued in Chapter Fourteen


	14. Confronting Her Fate

All That Glitters: 14 of ?

Confronting Her Fate: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.16

The movement next to him brought a frown to Aurum's face and he opened his eyes. Turning, he frowned further when he saw the empty bed, still indented from the warm body that had recently occupied it. He pushed himself up, groaning softly at the long unfamiliar aching in places that hadn't ached for a very long time. Aurum grabbed his cane and stumbled slightly in his bare feet as he tried to slip his trousers on.

After a brief fight, he let them fall to the floor and limped painfully across his room and into the massive collection hall. The afternoon light still lit the cavernous chamber well and he unerringly made his way to Ria's small alcove. "Honey?" His voice was soft, concerned, as he knocked on the door.

Getting no response, he opened the door, peering into the small room. Absently he noticed how tiny it was. He'd have to move her... this was too small for anyone to be comfortable in. It was like a small dungeon. However, he did note that she was not in the alcove.

Turning, he determined that he'd check the entire hall if he must. He knew she must be confused, the blood on the sheet would have told him this had been new to her if he hadn't already guessed as much. He knew she'd need to talk; women always did. And he was certainly not going to let her wander around to think whatever deviant thoughts a woman would think at such a time.

He leaned on his cane, drawing a breath to try to block the pain of his bare ankle hitting the floor with each step. Slowly, he limped out of the alcove, out of the collection room, and onto the landing in the outside hall. He paused, letting his cane tap the floor softly as he considered how to take the steps.

Aurum turned his head at some noise from the bathing room and relief rushed over him. No one in the Hall used his private bathing room except Ria. The master limped to the door and knocked, his voice once again soft and worried. "Honey?"

"Aurum?" she called, struggling to pull herself from the pool. All thoughts of earlier gone, she could only think that if he had limped all this way without any help and hurt himself she was going to wallop him on the head. She pulled the tunic over her head without bothering to dry off first.

Hearing her voice, relief rushed over him a second time in as many minutes. "Honey!" His voice was worried, but his relief was evident as he tried the handle of the bathing room door. Finding it unlocked, he blew out the breath he didn't know he'd held and turned the handle, pushing the door inwards. "Honey... you were gone when I woke..." his voice held a tinge of uncertainty.

"I wanted to take a bath," she said honestly, blushing when she realized he was completely nude. _Not that it made any difference_, the rational part of her brain told her. Not after earlier. "I was... sore," she admitted, looking embarrassed. She grabbed the one robe hanging on the wall and moved closer to him. "Put this on, silly. Running around naked, just begging to hurt your ankle..."

"I was worried about..." he stopped when she offered the robe. Reaching out a hand, he took it and slipped it on, balancing his cane on the wall while he did so. "I hurt you, Honey?" There was worry and something akin to remorse in his eyes.

"I've read enough to know that's normal," she pointed out, moving herself under his right arm to give him better support than the cane could. "I already feel better." A slight lie, but she didn't burn like she had earlier.

Leaning on her, grabbing his cane with his left hand, he looked down at the woman he had so recently loved. "We should dress..." he paused, then attempting a playful tone, he asked "and you still wanted to see the gather?"

The gather had been the furthest thing from her mind and she couldn't help but laugh a little as she helped him limp back to the room. "Before we do anything I'm going to make sure you didn't hurt yourself again," she said in a very serious voice, though she poked him in the ribs while she spoke. "You are the most impatient person I've ever met."

He was relieved to hear the spirit in her tone. It proved his Honey hadn't been damaged by the morning's... activities. Silently, he allowed her to move him across the rooms and onto his bed. His ankle was swollen and an angry red, the skin broken from walking on the hard floors. He sank to the still messy bed and looked at her, his eyes taking in the sight of her in his tunic. "I've hurt it," his tone was light.

"I can see," she said with a sigh. The supplies she'd pulled out earlier had been knocked to the floor so she picked them up and set the tray back on the bed. "I'll use the salve, and get it rebandaged, and then you're taking something for the pain." Her tone made it clear the subject was not up for discussion.

Aurum straightened and smiled at her. "Fine, I'll have numbweed for the ankle and..." he looked directly at her, "fellis for the rest of me." He waited, watching her reaction, the gold specks dancing with mischief in his eyes.

"And wine?" she finished, giving him her tilted smile.

"What else? Water? Are you from the farmcraft, woman?" He laughed.

"Well, it is kind of a special occasion," she said loftily, setting about tending to his ankle. "Seeing as how this sort of thing only happens once in a girl's life, I feel I should celebrate."

"Once in a girl's life?" His voice turned to a fierce growl and he grasped her arm suddenly, pulling her back to the bed next to him. "You are a beautiful woman and men would line up to bed you, Honey. You are by no means to lock yourself away from the world because you think you're only good to clean..." after a moment, the normally poised master shut up, realizing his words weren't coming out right.

He wouldn't have had a chance to finish anyway before she burst out laughing. "What? Do you think I don't know other holder girls who have tried things before they're married off?" Her time in the bath had cleared her head. She need only never tell her father. She would never be offered up to some Lord for a wife: one day she expected she'd marry a farmer or a woodsmith. "I meant a girl only makes love for the first time once."

Aurum looked at her, his eyes less fierce. He let himself relax, taking her at her word that she wasn't upset by the morning, wasn't feeling like some kind of woman of easy virtue. "Very well," he voice grew playful. "Wine to celebrate becoming a woman, Honey." He held out a hand for the glass she had promised.

"Let me finish wrapping your foot first," she scolded him, sliding out of his arms and finishing up her work quickly. She went to the cabinet where he kept the liquor and returned with a bottle and two glasses.

He chuckled as she moved around. "Afraid to give me the fellis now in case I drop it when you deliberately yank my foot to punish my grumblings?"

"No," she said cheerfully, joining him on the bed. She was careful to sit to his left, not wanting to jostle his pained right ankle. "I just wanted to be able to drink and not have to be concerned about being sober enough to finish your ankle afterwards." She grinned at him, popping the cork from the skin with ease.

Aurum chuckled. "So, you plan on more than one glass, Honey?" He held out his hand once more for the glass.

"I never have before," she said, finally handing the glass over. "And never anything but watered down dredges before I came here." She poured them both full glasses, then carefully placed the bottle on the nightstand. From the pocket of his tunic she pulled the small vial of fellis juice she had picked up along the way.

The master waited for her to settle as he watched her many small movements. "Then you have missed out on one of the finer things in life: the pounding head, the mouth stuffed with fibres, the sick running down your chest, the loss of the memory of just how foolish you were and how many people you angered. To be drunk..." He grinned.

She gave him a serious look, then rolled her eyes and drained half the glass in one go. Already she felt drunk, giddy. "Here," she said, pressing the vial of fellis into his hand.

"Oh? And you are going to let me dose myself? What if I give myself too little... or too much?" He held the wine in one hand and toyed with the small vial in his other, watching her with dancing eyes, warm and brown in the afternoon light.

"Shirisa is gone," she said, swirling her glass, "and I could mess the dosage up easily. You probably know better than I do how much you need, am I right?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

He paused in thought then slowly he asked, "And so what is it to be? Sleep? Or do you want me in an altogether different mood... because I don't need fellis for that, Honey." His voice was low, almost a purr.

"I want you in that altogether different mood," she told him, moving closer on the bed. "But more importantly I don't want you to hurt." She rested her free hand on his right thigh gently, careful of his still healing injuries.

Eyes widening at how close she came to his injury, he used two long fingers to unstopper the bottle, never putting down either the vial or the glass. He kept his eyes on the woman before him as he put a small dose of the vile tasting liquid in his wine and re-stoppered the vial. Then, letting the vial slide to the bed, he brought his cup to his lips. "To you, my beautiful Honey." He downed the entire glass in one breath, raised his head once more, and looked her directly in the eyes.

She smirked and finished her own glass in time with his. "More?" she asked, pouring herself another glass. The first hadn't hit her yet, so her hand was steady while she poured.

Aurum placed a hand over Ria's, stopping her mid pour and tilting the mouth of the flask up and away from the cup. He frowned slightly. "Honey... are you trying to get up the nerve to lie with me? I don't want you to think I expect this... you are my assistant and a beautiful, desirable woman... not a whore. I..."

"I want to be drunk," she said, interrupting him. "Maybe I'm tired of being the sweet hold girl who does everything perfect. Maybe I want to know what it's like to make love while intoxicated," she finished.

"Oh, Honey. You _are_ perfect. There's no way around that." He smiled at her. But he had ceased arguing and merely let her hand and the wine flask go. "I don't want to be drunk when I love you, Honey... it's bad enough you've dosed me. That will do enough damage."

Her eyes flashing merrily, she raised her glass to him. "To a gentleman," she toasted him, sipping at this glass more sedately. For all her talk she had little experience with alcohol, and she was sure that the second glass would go mostly untouched.

It was obvious by his lazy smile and half-lidded eyes when the fellis began to take effect. Mixed with the wine, it again had the result of loosening his inhibitions and making him amorous. He pulled her against his chest and started kissing her neck, one hand lazily playing with a lock of hair.

She smiled and placed her glass on the table with a neat clink, willingly pushing herself against his chest. Remembering earlier, she tentatively nibbled his ear. "Is that okay?" she whispered.

"Ummm," the sound was more pleasure than answer.

Careful of his legs, Ria moved to straddle him, leaning down to nuzzle at his neck. "Just tell me one thing, Aurum," she whispered, "and it's all I'll ever ask."

"Anything, my Honey... what do you wish to know?" He moved his mouth downwards, to the jointure of her neck and shoulder, a hand dropping to guide his mouth, reaching for sensitive areas to gently explore.

She resisted the urge to just give in, pulling away from him just enough so that she could look into his eyes. "Am I your whore?" she asked quietly, voice level but her eyes telling how much the answer meant to her.

His brain fogged with wine and fellis, it took a moment for Aurum to understand the question. After a moment, he sat up fully, frowning at her. He looked into her face, not answering for what seemed like an eternity before pulling his hands away and growling, "I have never and never will take a whore, Honey." His eyes blazed suddenly. "And if that is what you think this is... if that is what you wish to be..."

She stopped him with a desperate kiss, her arms curling tightly around him. "It isn't," she whispered against his lips. "I want to be here. I... I just wanted to know you wanted me here." She sounded so different than she had a moment ago, scared and needy.

Aurum threw manners and patience to the winds and crushed her to him, sealing his mouth over hers in a passionate, hungry kiss... a kiss full of longing. After long moments, he ripped his mouth away and tucked her head under his chin, his chest rumbling as he said, "I need you here... I... want... you... here."

All her earlier concerns gone now, she lifted her arms and removed his tunic. "Then I'm right here," she said, leaning back down to kiss him again.

Continued in Chapter Fifteen


	15. A Step Outside

All That Glitters: 15 of ?

A Step Outside: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.22

On the surface, not much had changed since the gather. She went about cataloging his collection, doing her best to get the story behind each item as she went. Most times he told such outrageous stories that they must have been falsehoods, but she laughed along with him all the same. She tended his leg, brought his food, laid out his clothing...

But at night it was his bed she fell into eagerly. She was finding the Master to be quite the lusty man and an incredibly adept teacher. Though she had to smile as she blushed: she was proving to be as wanton as him, she supposed. She'd even reached for him first last night, a delightful surprise to both of them.

She'd forgotten about the new boots he needed until that morning, perhaps because she had spent more time than usual tending his right ankle. In her clumsiness last night she'd bumped it roughly, and though at the time he had growled for her to ignore it, there was definitely more swelling in the morning.

Holding the right boot in her hand, she ran her fingers across the soles. "So if the Master Cobbler won't leave Keroon," she asked him, "how am I supposed to get you new shoes? I've been reminded three times since I arrived and yet no one can tell me." She grinned her little crooked grin up at him. "Or did you just roar and bellow at him so that you need an unknown to get them? Because I'm pretty sure he'd know who they were for."

Aurum laughed, reaching over and stroking a hand down her hip. He seemed unafraid to touch her in small ways as they moved about their lives. "I never growl unless it gets me something I want, Honey." His eyes danced, the gold flecks prominent. In his teasing tone, he added "and I certainly like having new footwear... the measuring and fitting is everything a man could hope for if he's into self-abuse." The smile never left his lips as he moved his hand over her stomach and settled it on her other hip.

She smirked down at him before sinking down to her knees to put the boots on, well aware of what it looked like. She glanced up and winked playfully. "Oh, so it's the same question as always... do you live with the pain and me complaining for a few sevenday before giving in, or do you want to do this the easy way and just go ahead and tell me what I need to do?"

Throwing back his head in a sudden laugh, he moved his hand to the top of her head, briefly, then dropped it to rest on his right thigh, over the rapidly healing wounds. "I am serious, Honey. I prefer the temporary pain of fitting to the constant pain of poor footwear. He lives at the Cobbler Hall in Keroon River Hold. The only time he leaves is to come to masters such as myself. He's the Master of all Cobblers." Aurum leaned forward, his breath still sweet from the morning's honeyed rolls. "After all, Masters have the right to have customers come to them, Honey."

Straightening, he used his higher pitched, playful tone to ask "Or did you want me to send to Fort Weyr for a dragon to take us to Keroon River Hold? I assure you, Weyrleader M'clynn would have no problem assigning us a rider from his Passenger Wing... perhaps I'll even rank a bronze again."

"A dragon?" she asked in a very undignified squeak, looking up at him with huge eyes. Then she narrowed them. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Teasing?" His voice was still light, "now why would I need to do that? Surely a Weyr that makes marks on ferrying passengers wouldn't begrudge the Master Weaver would it? And I don't relish walking the continent..."

She didn't give him a chance, lunging upwards and throwing her arms around his neck, knocking them both back down onto the bed. "I've never ridden a dragon!" she said excitedly, peppering his face with kisses the entire time. "Or been to Keroon!"

Aurum let her kiss him, chuckling at her enthusiasm. Finally, though, he cupped her face with his hands and tilted her head. His lips covered her in a passionate kiss that lasted almost too long to breath. Breaking away, he slowly pushed up from the bed. "Well, we shall go. I'll send a message to prepare him for our arrival." He grabbed his cane and limped past her towards his clothes drawers.

"I'll put on something nicer," she said, skipping past him in delight. Her meager possessions and clothing were still in her little alcove. She flung open her clothes press and dug through until she found what she had been searching for. It was a beautiful, deep blue dress. Not quite fitting for a gather, it had been far too fine to wear for cleaning.

_And now I have an opportunity to wear it_, she thought with a shiver of delight. The fabric was finer than anything she had ever owned, and it slithered on over her underthings with a sigh. In a moment of girlish dreams she wished she had a mirror large enough to see the dress. The enchantment petered out, though, when she realized that the lacing in the back was impossible to handle on her own.

Cursing, she wedged herself between the bed and wardrobe, using her feet to lever herself up. Maybe if she could just twist enough... no, that wasn't it. "How do women wear these things?" she muttered to herself, making little progress.

A hand on her hip stopped her, as Aurum chuckled softly. His voice was low and sensuous, "they get the men in their lives to fasten them... or unfasten them as may be."

She'd been so busy she hadn't noticed him enter. The hilarity of her position hit her and she laughed, lowering herself to the ground. "Can we make a deal then?" she asked him, turning around so the frustrating fastenings were to him. "Fasten them now and unfasten them later?" She glanced over her shoulder with a suggestive smile.

"Oh? Deals are my speciality, Honey." He almost purred as he reached for the lacings.

"I'll let you set the terms," she added serenely.

"No need... the terms are acceptable. I do the work now and get the pleasure later." He quickly did up her lacings, pulling them tight enough without pinching in the process. As a master of cloth, it would be in his range of skills to do this sort of work, even if he hadn't done it for some time. He finished, leaning forward, lifting her mass of honey-colored hair and kissing the back of her neck. "Shall I dress your hair, Honey?"

The dress was different than anything she'd worn before, tighter through the chest and waist, but when his lips pressed against her skin she relaxed. "My hair?" she repeated, reaching her hand up and stroking the back of his neck. "This is just an exciting day all around."

"Well, if people are going to assume upon seeing you that you are my Lady or my lover, I want them to be awed by you. I want them jealous of my good fortune and humbled that they are in your presence." He turned her, grinning wickedly. "I want them to realize they have no business thinking about you and feeling guilty because they cannot resist."

Turning her back around, he eased her onto the small, now unused bed in the alcove. He lifted her hair, taking a brush and starting to smooth out the luxurious mass. In an offhand voice, he asked "When is your cycle due, Honey?"

Instead of answering she just smiled at him, leaning up on her toes to kiss him gently on the lips. Then she let him turn her around, sitting sedately on the bed. The brush running through her hair felt magnificent, and she sighed and let her eyes drift closed.

"Within the next sevenday," she answered after a moment's thought. Of course he'd be asking her that, she thought with a small blush. Being around him had made her far less sensitive to embarrassment but there were still a few things that were anathema. Like presenting a bastard to the Master Weaver.

"Well, then you will not get sick while riding today." He let his hands weave her hair, as he would fine silk. Finally, he let his hands drop. "You'll want to see the damage?" he chuckled, pulling her gently to her feet and bowing. With a gesture, he indicated the large collection room. "I should have a mirror left from the Ninth Pass. It is said to have belonged to Weyrwoman Kylera of Southern... back before Southern became Islinne and Kylara lost her dragon."

She stood and gave him a bob of a curtsey, that wicked little grin coming out again as she walked past him. She wasn't a fool: she'd seen the look in his eyes and she already knew the answer. But she still wanted to see what she looked like.

Though she had yet to begin uncovering that area of the room, it was easy enough to find the mirror. He smiled again as he moved a couple of objects from the way and turned the mirror to face her, a finely crafted if old and dusty piece of furniture. With a part of his tunic, thankfully he hadn't gotten dressed up yet, he cleaned the entire reflective surface for her, turning it one last time to catch the light without blinding her. With a bow and a flourish, he playfully said "May I present the beauty to my beast?"

A smile spread across her face as she saw the beautifully tumbled mass of curls he'd managed to create out of her usually wild and untamed mane. She raised her hand to touch one of the tendrils around her cheeks and turned to him. "Oh hush," she said, giving him a playful smack on the arm. "You like to pretend you're a beast, but you can't fool me any longer."

He caught her hand and kissed it. "My turn to dress, Honey, as you admire yourself." He dropped her hand and limped to his room in search of something presentable to wear for the Master Cobbler.

When he came back, he was dressed in the same trousers and boots, naturally, but his tunic was of a fine linen, white and clean and pressed. The vest he was buttoning over top of it was a dark brown to match the trousers, but there was stunning embroidery work on it, depicting a random pattern in vivid blues, reds, silver and gold. The silver and gold shone like polished metal. He was looking at his fingers as he buttoned, limping slowly, cane clutched under one arm, so he moved without balance.

Ria turned when she heard him come out of his room, and her breath caught. Before now all she'd seen him in were loose clothing, comfortable things, his underclothes... and less. But fully dressed, looking like a proper Lord... her mouth went dry with a combination of lust and wondering once again just how on Pern she had ended up here.

She crossed the room to him, gently batting his hands aside to finish the buttons for him. _You look incredible. You look more handsome than ever. Forget the cobbler. Let's go back to bed..._ a lot of thoughts went through her head in those brief moments, but she was completely tongue tied. Once done with the vest she reached up and brushed his hair back from his eyes, chuckling as it stubbornly fell right back into place.

Aurum chuckled in return. "Now, to get down those horrible stairs." He took a breath, bowed, offered his arm, but wrecked the image by glancing up through his hair and grinning playfully. His voice rose to the teasing tone. "Shirisa's always trying to get me to take the apartment downstairs that is normally for the master, but I like not being bothered, way up here." He waved his free hand in the air at the end.

"Privacy is nice," she agreed, winking. Without a word she placed herself on his right side, ready to take as much pressure off the cane and leg as possible. "I like it here," she continued with a small smile, leading him to the door. "It feels like a castle, being so high up... and with the windows clean you can see for so far." She gave a dreamy sigh and leaned her head against his arm for a brief moment. "And it's amazing exercise... the first day I arrived I was out of breath by the time I reached the top. Now I can take them three at a time," she finished with a laugh. "It's amazing I haven't fallen yet, truly. That would be amusing. Would you nurse me back to health if I broke my leg?"

By the time they arrived at the bottom floor, Aurum was laughing outright at her chatter. All movement in the hall stopped, and everyone stared to see not only the Master, and looking as fine as ever, but that the monster was laughing and smiling with that slip of a girl he'd hired to clean for him.

"And bottom of the stairs and you barely noticed," she said smugly.

Shirisa noticed the commotion, or lack thereof, and came hustling out. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Aurum and Ria. Smoothing her skirts, speechless for once, the woman took a long moment to collect her thoughts. Then she turned and frowned fiercely at all the crowd forming. "Do you work or get a new craft?"

The master's attention was drawn from his companion and he frowned fiercely at the crowd. They scattered, except Shirisa and Chyp, the impudent apprentice, who whistled in appreciation when he looked at Ria.

Shirisa smiled and smoothed her apron once more. "What can I do for you, Master Aurum? Ria?"

Sadly for Chyp, Ria only had eyes for the Master right then. "Master Aurum decided he wants to go see the Master Cobbler in Keeron," she told Shirisa, unable to keep the huge grin off her face. She glanced up at him. "He said we'd get to ride a dragon... "

The headwoman nodded enthusiastically, not questioning that he hadn't just sent for the man as was habit. "Shall I send my Brown to the Weyr for a dragon, then?"

Aurum nodded. "We'll return this afternoon, Shirisa."

Turning quickly, Shirisa whistled and her brown firelizard flew in and landed on the banister. The woman pulled out a message tube, thin piece of paper, and a piece of coal from her apron, apparently always ready to send messages for her master. She wrote quickly and placed the paper in the tube and the tube on her firelizard's leg. "Take this to Weyrleader M'clynn." With that, the brown chirruped, flew up to the ceiling, and popped out.

It wasn't long before a bronze dragon was back-winging to land in the forecourt of the Hall; apparently the Wyerleader of Fort Weyr respected the Master Weaver of Pern enough to heed his request immediately. The rider slid gracefully to his feet, giving his dragon a slap of gratitude and affection. Then he turned and strode smartly to the Hall door, which Shirisa threw open before the man even knocked.

Taking off his riding helmet as he bowed to the foursome, the man's white blond hair, tied up to fit under the cap, appeared quite pale compared to his dark leathers. His eyes, a dark blue or brown, indistinguishable in that lighting, were serious. With a smooth voice, silky but nothing like Aurum's, he said, "I am at your service, Master Weaver, and my duty to your Hall."

Shirisa's eyes widened, apparently recognizing the man, but she merely bobbed, wincing as her knees protested. Chyp wisely held his tongue, recognizing his rank as nothing in the company he was keeping. Aurum, for his part, bowed only his head.

"Thank you, L'cius. Our duty to the Weyr. How fares Malfoyth?" His tone had gone to silky, but there was no trace of his normally seductive honeyed tone.

L'cius straightened, paused, then smiled. It was a polite smile, but his eyes looked more calculating than genuinely welcoming. "Malfoyth is well. Shall we go... I am sure you would prefer to ride than to stand around." His tone was equally forced politeness, and he left unsaid the rather obvious _on that foot_.

The master weaver stiffened under Honey's hand, but didn't say a word. He merely nodded his head and began his slow way towards the dragon, his limp almost as pronounced as when his thigh had been at its worst. He also seemed to be trying to hide the pain, his face twisting in the occasional grimace which the rider seemed to be solicitously ignoring.

Unlike the others, Ria had no idea who this L'cius person was. But she was smart enough to feel the mood change in the room. Since the bronzerider had completely ignored her so far, she tried not to attract his attention. "Lean on me more," she murmured to the Master, noticing the pain. Now she was feeling guilty for being so excited at the prospect of a dragon ride, watching him try to hide how much pain he was in.

Aurum did as she requested, but not as much as he'd done in the past. It was as if he didn't want to burden her with his weight, or was trying not to show his weakness in front of the arrogant condescending bronzerider. When they finally arrived at the dragon, the great bronze merely looked down on the non-riders, blinking slowly. He seemed unimpressed as he moved his foreleg to help them mount.

It was a production for L'cius to aid the master onto the beast, apparently having some difficulty getting the aged cripple up to such a height. When he had the Master settled, he turned to offer Ria his steady hand, his eyes blazing in annoyance.

Something about the rider made her go cold, and it was all she could do to take his hand instead of shrinking back from him. "Thank you, Bronzerider L'cius," she mumbled when he had gotten her seated.

L'cius gave her a calculating, welcoming, though not friendly, smile. "Any time, my Lady." Obviously, he was not one of those men who were going to be jealous of the Master for having her on his arm. Rather, he seemed to think she was the man's wife, perhaps. Finally, he turned and patted his bronze with a great deal more affection than he had displayed for the people. "Take us up, my love. The Master and his daughter need shoes to match their fine clothes."

The dragon lunged smoothly into the air, taking them up and _between_ before they could respond.

Continued in Chapter Sixteen


	16. The Return

All That Glitters: 16 of ?

The Return: Cobbler Hall: 3400.02.22

Once they were at the Cobblers. Aurum hadnﾒt had the opportunity to speak privately to Ria. Most often they were accompanied by the Master Cobbler... though Aurum seemed to be in little pain while limping around the Hall. When it was time to go. a different rider. from Ista Weyr. arrived to take them back. It was Hﾒratio. who had aided the master during the surgery.

"Hﾒratio" Ria called in delight as their made their way slowly across the courtyard. She waved one hand at him and glanced up at Aurum with a grin. "Hey. one you donﾒt hate!"

Aurum smiled at her and chuckled. his playful mood reasserting itself. "How could I hate him when you seemed to be half in love with him. Honey?"

She giggled and ducked her head. "It was Haukeye who wanted to run off with me. not Hﾒratio." she reminded him. leaning just slightly against him for a moment. "And it you recall. I didnﾒt."

"Well. I wouldnﾒt run off with Haukaye. either." Hﾒratio called as he came even with them. "The man smells of medicine." He bowed. calling cheerily in his soft voice. "My duty to you both. and your Hall. If it pleases you. Caineth is willing to fly you to the Dawn Sisters and back. Just give him the word." The dragon turned his great head. eyes swirling in a slow mix of jade and emerald.

Lﾒcius had so unsettled her she had barely noticed his dragon. but now. she looked up at Cainethﾒs massive form with a wondrous expression on her face. "Heﾒs so..." she trailed off. not having the words to describe him.

"Beautiful?" Hﾒratio supplied softly.

Weakly. she nodded her head. "Do... do you think heﾒd mind if I..." she couldnﾒt even bring herself to ask to be allowed to touch such an amazing creature.

Caineth lowered his head. his great eye fixing on her. Hﾒratio laughed. "He will love you for life if you stroke his eyeridge. like this..." And he lifted a hand to demonstrate. The eyes whirled faster. more greens blending in. "That color means heﾒs happy."

She had to lean up on her toes to do so. but she was able to reach the other side of his eyeridge and scratch it. She made a delighted sound. surprised at how soft his bronze hide was.

Suddenly. strong hands at her waist lifted her to a better position.

Giving a slight squeak of shock at finding herself so much higher so suddenly. Ria instinctively grabbed at the hands on her waist. She looked down and saw it was Hﾒratio. then burst into laughter and turned back to the dragon.

"Arenﾒt you such a handsome fellow." she told him. using one hand to scratch the eyeridge while running the other across his neck. "And so big!"

Hﾒratio chuckled softly. apparently everything he did was quiet. "Step onto his leg. Heﾒll support you."

Aurum asked in a light. friendly manner. "how was the clutch at Ista? You had eggs on the sands when last we met."

"And you were passed out when I mentioned them. I thought." Hﾒratio laughed back. "We had a fine clutch: twenty-two pairs. no gold. but two bronzes and near a dozen greens." He didnﾒt list browns or blues. but it was evident there has been those as well. We expect two more clutches to be laid soon. The dragons are producing faster and faster this turn."

Aurum nodded and. with only slight help. mounted the great bronze as if heﾒd done it periodically for turns and knew a trick or two. Hﾒratio helped Ria up next. giving her a sympathetic smile when he had to stop her adoring caresses of his bronze. Once he had her settled. he swung up and turned to call to them. "To the Hall?"

"Yes. the Hall... and not so quick between this time... Lﾒcius didnﾒt allow Honey to catch her breath this morning." Aurumﾒs voice was laced with steel.

With a nod. Hﾒratio had Caineth bring them up into the sky. allowing the bronze to fly a couple of lazy circles so his passengers might enjoy the unique view of Keroon River Hold from aﾒdragon back. Finally. he called "Count to three... and donﾒt forget to breath..." With that advice they went _between_...

And were home again before a man could cough thrice.

Continued in Chapter Seventeen


	17. Searching for Home

All That Glitters: 17 of ?

Searching For Home: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.22

Just like H'ratio had said, three counts and the blackness disappeared, replaced by the rolling landscape around the Hall. She let out a piercing shriek, right next to H'ratio's ear, laughing like a loon the next moment. She tossed her arms in the air in excitement, though she quickly learned that was a bad idea and fumbled to grasp the back of H'ratio's belt.

"Do a flip!" she yelled. "Or a roll!" She didn't care, as long as this ride didn't end.

H'ratio joined in the laughter as Aurum's hands tightened spastically on her waist. The bronzerider called over his shoulder, "I've been trying to get him to do stunts for turns, but all he says is he refuses to break his wings, even for me." The dragon started circling lazily down, lengthening the ride as long as he could, it seemed.

If she was disappointed it was impossible to tell, her expression rapt as she watched the Hall come closer. She turned her head to look at Aurum behind her, a brilliant smile on her face.

He was pale and a little green. Apparently, flying didn't sit well with the master at all.

Concern crossed her face for a moment, but then she realized that wasn't his pained face. Laughter bubbled out from her and she leaned back against him, his arms circling her tightly in his fear. She took her hands from the rider's belt and placed them over his, squeezing them comfortingly. But she continued to enjoy the lazy circle and started to make a list of quips to tease him with over this in the future.

The dragon landed with a thud but not enough to jar them off. H'ratio unbuckled the riding straps from his belt and slid from the dragon with the ease of turns of practice. He turned to hold his hands up to her. "I will catch you, My Lady."

She glanced over her shoulder at Aurum and gave him a little smirk. "See you on the ground," she told him before unbuckling herself and sliding off the dragon and into the rider's arms.

A growl erupted from the master as H'ratio caught her neatly around the waist and settled her on her feet. Softly, not loud enough for Aurum to hear, he said "You're brave as a gold, My Lady. What if I Searched you?"

Speechless, she stared at him for a long moment. Dragons were something she'd never thought of, Weyrs something that only existed in stories other people told. "We have a debt to the Weaver's Hall," she said, trying to put him off while a million thoughts ran through her head. "If I left, my father would be responsible for that debt again." Her father, with his gnarled hands, who she hadn't thought of in almost a sevenday. She flushed, but from shame.

He gave a nod of understanding and H'ratio softly said, "the Weyr would discharge the debt to get you on Search... and be thankful for it. Caineth likes you."

The thought of it was intoxicating, Impressing a dragon like Caineth, being free in the skies like that every day of her life. But then she glanced up at Aurum, still waiting for a hand down from the dragon, and she smiled. "Thank you, both of you," she said humbly, not looking away from the Master. "But I think I'm where I belong for now."

"How long is your work arrangement, My Lady? I'd be happy to bring your father and you to the Weyr after the debt is discharged..." His offer was in the same quiet voice, his hands never having left her waist, though they were lightly placed, not in the least suggestive or groping.

That made her smile fade slowly. "Almost a full turn," she murmured. After which she didn't know what would become of her. Would Aurum return her to her father, freeing her to take this opportunity?

The second option made her heart twist: she might remain here, happily, with him.

"I don't have to make up my mind right away, do I?" she asked quietly.

H'ratio nodded and stepped back, letting her go. He turned to help the Master Weaver down. "Not at all, My Lady. Let me know when you are ready... and the next gold that's laid, I'll come to you." He smiled for Aurum whose face was neutral upon hearing the Search going on. The rider then bowed to them both, saluted, and bounded up his dragon's side. "My duty! And call on Ista any time, for anything..." With those words, the dragon leapt from the ground, inadvertently spraying dust on the pair in their finery.

Aurum turned and offered his arm to Ria, not saying a word. His face was still neutral, no expression in his brown eyes.

With a pert smile she took his offered arm. "I noticed you didn't give H'ratio nearly as hard of a time as you did that first rider," she commented, casting a sly glance up at him. "You really have managed to make someone mad at every Hall, Hold, and Weyr, haven't you?"

"L'cius is a stuck up pain in the arse, Honey." His voice was cold. Without another word, he guided her into the hall and slowly, painfully, up the steps to the fourth floor.

"I won't argue with that," she said with a bit of a chuckle, ignoring his cold tone. He must be in massive amounts of pain by this point, not to mention they would have to discuss what he had overheard. "How bad are you hurting?" she asked as she pushed the door open, asking without words if he would be needing the fellis tonight.

The master moved towards the bed, sank down on it, and lay back with a groan of genuine pain. He didn't even bother to pull off his tunic. "I ache in my leg, the cold of between runs deep, Honey." It was said that people with injuries shouldn't go between or risk the healing not taking hold properly. However, despite his pain and exhaustion, his tone was not as cold as it had been outside. It sounded more tired, almost defeated.

"Still a productive day, you got to harass a bronzerider, have a pair of new boots coming, got out of this sharded room... " she spoke while she moved about, pouring him a cup of wine and adding the dosage of fellis to it. She brought it, along with his customary glass of water to his bedside and set them next to him. She leaned over and kissed him gently. "Thank you for today," she said, smiling. "I could tell that wasn't terribly enjoyable for you but... thank you." She pulled away and got to work removing his boots.

He sat up enough to drink half his fellis, then lay back down, glass still in his hand. His voice was still defeated as he said. "You should go."

She didn't have to ask what he meant. She didn't respond for a long moment, then began working his belt lose to remove his pants. "Are you ordering me to go?" she asked.

"Never... I would never order you from my life, Honey." His eyes blazed golden brown fire, like honey in noon-light. Sitting up again, leaning back on one now shaking arm, he sipped at his fellis. He hadn't bothered to put it in his water, drinking it straight and bitter. "But the Weyr would be good to you. They would even take care of your father. They are always good to their riders." He looked her in the eyes. "And make no mistake, Honey. If you stood for the eggs, you would Impress. You have a dragon's heart and honor."

"Good, because I'd smack you in your face if you did order me," she said. She was finished with his ankle and had moved up to his thigh. She met his eyes and gave a small smile. "Thank you for the compliment. But as I told H'ratio, I'm happy where I am."

"The truth is never a compliment, Honey." His tone was softer, less defeated, at her assurances. "But if you decide to take his Search," he downed the rest of the fellis, "when your term is over," he placed the glass on the table and shimmied out of his tunic, "then tell me before you leave. I don't want to wake up to find you gone out of my life without at least a chance to fight to keep you." His words grew sleepy, his eyes heavy, though he seemed to be fighting the fellis.

Her hands stopped and she stared at him. "So you want to keep me?" she asked, willing him to stay awake long enough to answer.

He had lost the fight and fallen into a deep slumber, leaving her hopeful question unanswered. He didn't even move when she tended his swollen, angry leg wound.

With a muffled curse she realized that the man hadn't fulfilled his promise: she was still trapped in the blasted dress. And he was hanging half off the bed.

Giving a stamp of her foot, she tossed the sleeping fur up over him and went to find Shirisa and someone else to give her a hand with both things. She took the steps several at a time and was at quite a speed when she ran into Chyp, knocking them both down.

Chyp's arms immediately encircled her, pulling her against his undeveloped chest. The fourteen-turn-old tried to catch his breath, lying under the older girl on the hard stone flagged floor.

"Oh, the Master'll love to know you're giving all of his Hall equal attention." Yonda's bitter voice cut over them. "And I suppose the son of a healer's no mean prize, even if he's still a babe. Wouldn't mind teaching him your tricks, now, would you?"

Chyp looked confused, evidently not understanding Yonda's meaning.

"Yonda, take a long trip _between_," Ria snapped, struggling to get to her feet with the dress confining her waist. "I need help getting out of this bloody death trap, and the Master is hanging partly off his bed and dead to the world."

"Here now," the woman seemed angrier still. "You'll tear the blasted thing!" The laundry woman grabbed Ria hard by the arm and yanked her to her feet. "Let me get those laces, you silly clunch, or you'll never see it worn again. And won't that disappoint the Master what gave it to you?" She whirled Ria around, grabbing the laces and beginning to unknot them with long practiced ease. She was surprisingly deft, not damaging them despite her movements.

Ria gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes while Yonda went about her business with the dress. "Thank you, Yonda," she said, ignoring everything else the woman said.

"And you, Chyp, go help the Master. No need to have him fall off the bed drunk and kill himself, is there?" Her voice was crisp, snide.

Chyp sat up, still panting, and pushed himself to his feet. "Uh... yes, Yonda..." he gave a guilty-flushed look to Ria, his back turned slightly to both women and sidled from the room in an awkward, painful looking hunched shuffle. He could be heard in the washroom before he sprinted up the steps with all the noise of a teenaged boy on a mission.

With an exasperated sigh, Ria said, "He's not drunk. He walked too much today and had to take fellis for the pain. Don't start rumors." She glanced back at the woman. "Are you done?" She wanted to get away from Yonda, and soon.

"And who's fault is it he walked to Benden and back?" Yonda asked sharply. She got the dress unhooked and held it together, not exposing the young girl. "I bet you asked him to take you on a little trip and he fell all over himself to please you." Her voice was bitter, full of venom. "And you should be ashamed, making the Master walk on that leg of his when everyone knows the Master Cobbler'll come to him!" She reached forward and grabbed Ria's hand painfully, leaving small bruises. Pulling the girl's hand back, she placed her fingers at the opening in the gown. "Hold that, unless you want to display what you're selling. And be gone from my sight, you tramp. He'll sicken of you yet, make no mistake."

She whirled the girl around to face her, Yonda's eyes as poisonous and hateful as her tone. "And when he does, he won't even acknowledge you were born. He'll throw you away with as much ease as he tosses those pretty things in his big room." She was on a tangent and no amount of trying to interrupt from Ria was having an effect. By now she was using her mere physical presence to back the younger woman into a wall, where a bell rope dug painfully into the exposed flesh of Ria's back.

"In the end, you'll be back on the streets, or wherever you slinked in from, making your marks on your back instead of in his fine bed. And one of these days you'll have a brat with no father and a handful of regrets for being such a sharding... well," she straightened and backed off when the sound of steps, in answer to the tug of Ria's back hitting the bell cord, came to them.

With a last venomous glare, Yonda turned towards the laundry room door and hissed, "You'll want citrus juice for them stains." She opened the door, the words "No better than she should be," echoing back to Ria's ears.

Shirisa came to a wheezing halt, leaning a large hand against the cool stone wall. She bent over slightly in her efforts, her face red from the exercise. "I'm the only one what rings the bell..." she sounded more worried, alarmed, than angry. "What's the matter, Ria? What's happened?"

Ria was pale, her breathing shallow. She felt as if the woman had punched her in the stomach, knocking all the wind from her body. It wasn't anything more than she had thought herself, more or less, but to hear it said out loud, by someone else... it gave the possibility a realness that had not been there before.

"I stumbled," she said finally, voice dead and lifeless. "Chyp is helping with the Master, and Yonda... assisted me with my dress." She clutched the top closer to her chest.

"What?" Shirisa sounded shocked. "Here in the Hall and with any man able to come through and goggle at you?" She shook her head and pulled off the ever-present apron, revealing a bright red dress, faded with the turns, underneath. Flinging it around Ria like a cloak, she put her arm around her and began to lead her up the steps, slowly. "That woman has no sense. If it weren't for her way with clothes, I'd have asked the Master to let me get rid of her turns ago." She sighed, puffing with every step.

"You shouldn't be walking on that knee so much," Ria chided her gently, her voice still a tiny thing. "I can find my way up on my own, I promise Shirisa." She made herself smile. "I'm fine."

The headwoman looked at her long and hard, but didn't let her go. Instead, on the first landing, she turned her and guided her into a small room near the seps. Once in the neatly ordered room with the over long bed and huge chest of drawers, she pushed Ria onto the bed. She sank down next to the girl with a grunt, the bed sinking so much under her massive form that Ria was flung against her hip. Shirisa didn't seem to care. "Now," her arm went back around the girl. "What's happened truly? You didn't fall or it'd be your knees and palms skinned, not your wrist and eyes bruised."

"I suppose Yonda doesn't care for me much," she answered, still staring blankly ahead of her.

Shirisa snorted, "Yonda don't care for herself much," but let the girl continue.

Ria hung her head, not even knowing what to say.

Using one large, gentle finger she turned Ria's face up to her own. "Now, what's taken the sparkle from my girl's eyes?"

"Will he just throw me out after my turn of service is over?" she asked, voice shaking. "I thought... I thought... " She had to stop and take a few deep breaths to keep from breaking down into tears.

"Ah... so that's what's bothering you, little bird..." It was the first time she'd used a pet name for Ria, as all the other endearments she'd used were common stock for everyone. "So, you're afraid you'll wind up put on some table and forgotten until time for dusting..."

Feeling shame for the first time since that first night, she nodded helplessly.

Shirisa chuckled softly, her body shaking next to Ria, much like a landshake on the large bed. "Well, if'n it's a home you're worried about, little bird, I'll take you in. I can't offer you much of the pretties, but I've got a room to spare and good food and much work to earn the marks for caring for the parent back home." She smiled.

"H'ratio Searched me," she said suddenly. "The Weyr would pay off my debt and bring my father to live there with me."

The laughter cut off abruptly and the woman's eyes rounded. She turned to look at the girl, large breast brushing her in the movement. "And you're going? To ride dragons and fly free? Oh, Ria!" She sounded afraid and breathless, again misunderstanding the situation.

Tears finally began to spill over, and she looked at the door that led to the stairs and up to her Master. "I want to stay with Aurum," she whispered, not even noticing that she'd failed to use his title.

"You didn't take Search..." there was an odd twist to the woman's voice. "And you've fallen in love with him. Ah, little bird, I knew you would soon as you came to us." She hugged the girl to her large bosom, soothing her hair with one work roughened hand. "There now, hush. He won't turn you away if you ask him for a place here." Her voice was hushed. "If Yonda said he would, she was being spiteful. The Master's not a mean man. He won't let you go holdless, little bird." She pulled back a little to look down at the weeping girl.

"And what do I do when he gets tired of me?" she asked between her sobs.

"Has he said he's tired of you?" Her voice turned serious. "Never tell me he was the one who did that to your wrist! I won't believe it of him!"

She shook her head, quickly. "No, it wasn't him. And he's never said anything like that..."

"Well, let's think this through, shall we? What's he said?" Shirisa stopped petting Ria and sat back, arms crossed, all business. "And you can't convince me you don't remember. A woman in love remembers every word, priceless compliment or painful stab of insult. She hoards them like a treasure. So talk to me, little bird."

A tiny smile appeared on her face, remembering his murmured words before he fell asleep that night. "He said he'd fight to keep me," she told the older woman softly, leaning against her. "That he needs me. Wants me."

Relief bubbled up into a laugh, and a wide smile broke out onto the woman's face. Shirisa hugged Ria to her quickly before righting her again. "Well, all you need do is get him to admit that he loves you and you'll never be away from him again. Aurum's a man of his word. He'll do as he says and Pern be damned. And if he wants you enough to fight for, then it's the truth he's saying." She beamed at Ria.

Ria laughed and just sank against the older woman. "I really needed to hear someone say that," she admitted with something between a sob and a laugh. "I... I think I'm okay now."

Shirisa's hearty laugh joined Ria's as she hugged her once more. "Well, you've always been okay, little bird... just some people make you forget is all."

Continued in Chapter Eighteen


	18. A Little Push

All That Glitters: 18 of ?

A Little Push: Weaver Hall: 3400.06.18

Ria smiled as Aurum moved through the water with ease, no trace of his limp slowing him down for once. She herself was sitting on the edge of the pier, her shoes next to her so her feet could dangle into the water.

She'd suggested swimming after noticing how... energetic he could be in the bathing pool. If the Hall had thought she was insane for her constant questions about going to the beach and swimming with dolphins, well, they could all go _between_ now.

It had been barely four months since the confrontation with Yonda and Shirisa's comforting reassurances. Since then things had seemed to only get better. Aurum smiled more, seemed to not be in so much pain. He even went downstairs occasionally now, though the apprentices still fled in terror when they saw him, which actually seemed to amuse the man.

As he swam, Aurum occasionally glanced over at Ria, checking on her. She'd admitted that she didn't know how to swim but had wanted this first time at the beach to be about him, not her. So he would teach her next time. For the moment, he allowed himself the pleasure of an activity had hadn't done in seven turns, he could hardly risk the leg by putting it in this water, could he? Checking once more, reassuring himself that Honey was still right where he left her on the dock, Aurum dove under the water to test his lung capacity after seven years.

Unseen by master or assistant, Yonda approached. Until then, the beach had been one place Ria hadn't been near, and Yonda had taken to walking there in its solitude. To see the hated favorite of the once reclusive master was annoying. To get closer and find that the once reclusive master was actually in the water was enough to send the laundress over the edge. She'd been hoping for turns to be the one to draw him out... she'd known him from his cot days and felt she had the right over some girl half his age who was _no better than she should be_.

Ria waved at Aurum before he disappeared under the water, laughing softly. She could see the fins of the dolphins around him, and the occasional show-off doing flips into the air. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the beautiful weather and the crisp smelling breeze coming off the ocean.

When she opened her eyes she saw Yonda. Her heart sank and she started to feel ill: she'd been able to avoid the woman so far, but it looked like that was going to come to an end very soon. She hurriedly got to her feet, not wanting to have the confrontation while she sat.

"Sick of playing with your apprentice? Selling to the fishers now?" Yonda's voice was snide. She glanced quickly, noting the Master was busy with his play and hadn't heard her low hiss. "So, hoping to drown an old cripple so you can get his riches and take a new lover?"

Ria would have forgiven the woman all of the rest but the ending sent her anger flaring. "I don't know why you've decided to hate me so much," she snarled, "but the Master is not a cripple. Does he look like he's having trouble out there to you?" She advanced on the larger woman, eyes flashing. "Maybe that's your problem, Yonda. Maybe you should have treated him like a _man_ instead of a _cripple_."

Fire blazed in the older laundress' eyes. Face flushing in anger, she stepped over to the girl without a word. Reaching up, she slapped the girl across the face, hard enough to make her head snap back. "I've known him since he was a lad and you are just another pretty plaything to him. Even though you share his bed, you are not and never will be his wife... who would marry a whore?"

Ria raised her hand to her cheek, shocked at the slap. No one had ever struck her before like that. Then she reared back and punched the woman in the jaw, not a slap like Yonda. It wasn't the strongest punch but it was all she really all she knew. And she had to hit this woman. "No, you're the one who doesn't understand," she spat, "he loves me."

Yonda spit a bit of blood from her bitten lip and laughed harshly. "A man will say anything to bed a pretty girl, you stupid thing. Sold yourself to pay your father's debts... that's almost good... but to sell yourself for some pretty words and baubles... that's the lowest kind. You're more a whore than them women at the Velvet Pillow!" And with those words, the laundress, strong from turns of lugging heavy wet cloth, hauled back and squarely pushed Ria with both hands, hard. "Swim, you..."

Ria barely had time to make a squeak before she was under the water, her head smacking against the supports of the pier on her way down. She'd lied to Aurum earlier: she was terrified of water. Instinctively she screamed, not even able to tell which way was up, and the next breath brought in a lungful of water. She thrashed her arms frantically while the edges of her vision started to go black. Once again she cracked her head, this time against the bottom because her thrashing had sent her downward, not upwards.

Aurum stopped his play, seeming to sense trouble. He came up in time to see Ria falling into the water, though not how the girl had managed to get herself into such a fix. "Honey!" The master dove under, swimming desperately towards where he'd seen her go down. He kept his eyes open, his mouth closed, and his mind steady, pushing the panic far back. Catching a flip of grey, he headed in that direction, instinctively trusting the dolphins to know where someone was floundering.

Her vision had narrowed to the barest pinpoint when she felt herself being pushed up roughly. Limbs limp and long past the point of being useful, she just tried to concentrate on keeping her eyes open and focused on the rapidly brightening water.

Aurum finally spotted her dress. A dolphin was below her, pushing her to the surface. He swam after them, not interfering, trusting the beasts he had known most his life... the very pod he'd known as a child, in fact. When the dolphin broke surface, Aurum was there to slide a supporting arm around Ria, using his free hand to hold her head above water as he kicked for shore, the dolphin clicking and making other encouraging sounds. "Honey?" his voice was as pale as his face had become.

Once they broke the surface the dolphin struck its nose against her chest until she started to cough. More water than she would have thought was possible was coming out, along with that morning's meal. She couldn't answer, just clutching her hands around Aurum's arm like a lifeline.

"I'm here, Honey. I won't let you go, my love." His voice was soft, honeyed-tones. He rubbed her back, trying to sooth her.

Finally able to get past the vomiting phase and to the gasping for a good lungful of air, Ria started to look around. "Where's that... wretch... pushed me in," she was cut off by another coughing fit, even more water coming up.

"Pushed you?" Aurum sounded confused. After a moment of trying to sooth Ria, he said in a very controlled, calm voice she had never heard "just who pushed you, Honey?" His fingers drew lazy patterns on her back.

After the coughing stopped she managed to croak out, "Yonda," still sputtering. She finally sat up, still coughing and feeling like her lungs were burning but now more angry than scared. "I sharding hate water, Aurum," she told him, her voice hoarse from all the coughing.

"Your mother drowned," was his steady assessment. But he wouldn't let her change the subject for long. "And did Yonda say why she tried to drown you?" His voice had fallen back to the deadly cold.

"Well, I'm not entirely informed, but it had something to do with me being your bloody whore. And I may have punched her." She gave him a grin, trying to assure him that she wasn't going to die or anything. "That woman is a serious pain in the arse you know."

The master didn't smile, even at her weak attempt at humor. Instead, he let her go and scrambled awkwardly to his knees then feet, limping without access to his cane; it had been left on the pier with his clothes. Limping to the side of the pier, where his over-tunic hung, he rummaged in the pockets.

"Get off your bloody foot!" Ria shrieked at him, pushing herself up but stumbling. She made it almost half way before she lost her balance again and fell. She'd apparently swallowed half the ocean.

He turned and merely limped towards her, no real expression in his face. He got to her side, going down onto his knee, and patting her back to sooth her once more. "It hurts less today, Honey," he assured her, despite having walked barefoot across the beach and getting sand in the folds.

Then Master Aurum held up a small wooden box and said, his voice deadly calm but his eyes flickering with their golden lights, "Miss Honoria of Ista Hold. Will you do me the great honor of accepting me as your husband? To tend my home, bear my children, comfort my old age, and be the love of my heart until I die?" He opened the box to reveal a ring with silver and gold entwined on the band. It had a cut blue diamond with a lace pattern all around.

For the second time in the past few minutes, Ria found herself unable to breath. She stared at the ring in front of her for a moment, barely seeing it before her eyes flew up to his face. She stared at him for another long moment, convinced right then that she had died in the water because things never played out so perfectly in life.

His eyes were terrified, his face neutral, and there were worry lines drawn around his mouth and eyes.

"Yes," she whispered, taking his face between her hands and kissing him deeply, not even trying to stop the happy tears that were flowing down her face. "Nothing would make me happier."

Aurum seemed to be shocked for a long moment before her reaction, her answer, sunk in. Then he let out a whoop of joy like a much younger man winning his first date. He laughed, a free sound, and wrapped his arms around her, still clutching the ring box. "Oh, Honey, my love." His voice was breathless, happier than ever she'd heard it. He let her go and gently took her hand, removing the ring from its container and slipping it carefully onto her finger.

He hugged her again, but the odd voice of a dolphin out of water came to them. "Caff..."

Confused, he glanced at the old cow dolphin right at the water's edge. "Excuse me, Kista?"

"Caff," she repeated, then added "Bay...beee..."

She had been deleriously admiring the ring, easily the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, including everything in his vast collection. But she raised her head when she heard him addressing the dolphin. "What did it say?" she asked, coughing again, but smiling brilliantly up at him still.

"She," he corrected gently,"said Calf... and Baby..." He turned his head to Ria and frowned softly. "Are you with child, my Honey?"

"Baby?" she repeated, her voice small suddenly. "I... had my cycle. But it was light... "

He interrupted, saying carefully, "Light but definitely a flow?" Standing on the injured foot, unheeding, he offered both hands to Ria. "Yes, so was Fyera's cycle all nine months she carried Bael."

She blinked her eyes several times while he helped her to her feet. "But... how can it-, I mean she know?" she asked, voice shaky. "Please help me because I think I've lost my mind... I almost drowned, was proposed to by the man I love, and now I have a dolphin telling me I'm pregnant?" She was aiming for light hearted but she was clearly overwhelmed.

Aurum smiled, finally seeming to understand and be pleased about the news. "A dolphin can sense things a human cannot. It's why they're useful in healing. They can see if something shouldn't be there. And I hope..." his voice grew a bit more concerned, "that the dolphin's assessment is good news?"

A tiny smile spread across her face, and both her hands went to her stomach. It was still flat underneath the soaked dress, and she tried to imagine it swelled. "We're going to have a baby?" she asked him, looking up with a radiant smile.

With a soft chuckle, Aurum hugged her to him, nuzzling her neck, uncaring that he was being quite public with his affections. "Yes, we're going to have a baby." Lifting his face, his voice shifted to his playful tone. "But first the hand-fastening. Mustn't have weepy eyes for our hand-fastening, my Honey." With that, he slowly stood, bringing her to her feet at the same time.

She let him pull her to her feet and waited only moments before wrapping her arms around him, standing on tiptoes to reach him for a kiss. "I'm going to wake up any moment now," she murmured against his lips. "I just know it."

"Without me?" he teased with a chuckle. Slipping an arm around her waist, he guided her towards his clothes and cane, limping heavily on the bare ankle. "We should really be at the hall to wake up." He laughed low, "I never like to waken soaking wet. It makes me feel like a child of five.

"Faranth, I hope not," she said with a laugh, keeping her arm around his waist to help support his weight while they walked back. With a severe look she pushed him back onto the pier. "Now sit still," she said, gathering his things and bringing them to him so he could dry and dress.

She sat there in silence for several moments, staring at the sparkling ring on her hand in disbelief. "Oh!" she said suddenly, raising her eyes and smiling. "With all these surprises I didn't think to ask you how the swimming was? You must have had an entire pod out there with you."

"Yes, most of the pod I remember was there. They have several new calves... well, not calves now, they've grown." His voice was that light, airy tone he used when playful. "But they were there." Aurum never once made a visible or audible sign of how much it must hurt to put the boot on, smiling the entire time.

After long moments, he was ready and they stood. Once on her feet she leaned back up to give him another kiss, finding herself unable to stop. "Maybe I should learn to swim," she said, on his right side as always. Her free hand went to her stomach again, still not quite believing that the creature could tell. But if Aurum said so, then that was the end of the discussion. "I owe that one lady my life and a lot more."

"I hope you don't mean Yonda," his voice went suddenly very cold, almost dead. He tightened his arm around her but not painfully, his voice going lighter once more. "To the Hall, my Honey. We must prepare for the hand-fastening."

That tone made her throat close up: she'd only heard him use it a few times before, and it had never ended well for the person involved. "Silly cow just didn't realize I couldn't swim," she said, wondering why she was defending a woman who had just nearly killed her. "It probably scared her as much as it scared me."

But she let it go, smiling once again at the mention of the hand-fastening. Everything had happened so quickly, asked to be a wife, then discovering she was to be a mother... her head was spinning and she was glad to just enjoy the feel of him next to her as they walked. She'd adjusted to his gait long ago and it was as natural as breathing now, supporting him while also leaving room for his cane.

She glanced up at him, catching his eye and smiling. "I love you," she said simply, temporarily leaning against his side in as much of a hug as she could give while they walked.

"As much as I love you?" He smiled down at her, letting her lean, enjoying it. It seemed like no time before they were back at the Hall proper. He knocked like a visitor rather than opening the door, receiving an odd look from Ria for that. The door swung open, revealing Shirisa, looking tired and flustered.

Shirisa looked at the soaked pair, confusion crossing her friendly features. "Master?"

Aurum bowed slightly and smiled playfully at the woman. "The Master Weaver and his fiancee request entry."

The headwoman looked as if she would pass out.

"Oh dear," Ria said, scooting away from Aurum to support Shirisa. If she bashed that knee on the ground... it didn't even bear thinking. "Shirasa, are you okay?"

"Okay?" She looked down at the slip of a girl trying to support her great height. She looked down at her Master and frowned. "Now, it's no time for one of your jokes, Aurum... though I'm delighted as any you've got your sense of humor back."

Aurum laughed, throwing his head back and drawing attention for anyone within hearing. It was a friendly, delightful sound, his laughter. "Shirisa, I have never been more serious." He dropped his voice so only the three of them would hear, "or more in love."

"Look," Ria said, delight ringing in her voice as she held her hand out for the Headwoman to see. The ring glistened beautifully in the setting sunlight. "He is being serious." She cast a tender look over her shoulder at Aurum, her smile brighter than the sun.

Shirisa stood a moment longer then yelped. She hugged the girl to her and beamed, tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, I don't know what to say!"

Another laugh came from the master and he limped into the Hall. "At least let us get dried while you ponder the conundrum."

She dried her eyes absently with her apron edge, still one arm wrapped around the younger woman. "Oh... you're soaked, child!" She hugged her then let her go, pushing her towards Aurum. "Go, the both of you. I've a hand-fastening to plan!" Her laughter joined Aurum's as he caught Ria's hand, leading her towards the steps.

Ria laughed and rested her head against him as they walked. "A hand-fastening," she repeated, enjoying the way it sounded. Then she stopped walking, looking up at him with huge eyes. "You had that ring on you," she said, a little accusatory. "Was that as spontaneous as it seemed or did you bribe Yonda to shove me in the water?" She grinned wickedly, to take the sting out of the jab.

His laughter died in his throat and he froze, paling a bit. His voice dropped, "I would never try to kill you, Honey. Believe me, Yonda will be dealt with." His voice was as much a threatening growl as it had been to that master healer. Straightening, he added, in the same serious tone, "I had planned to propose on the way back to the hall... it was the timing which was spontaneous..."

Ignoring that they were still in the middle of the Hall, Ria stepped in front of him. "I really don't think she was trying to kill me," she said softly, smiling up at him. "And... just in case you wanted to know, I would have said yes even if I hadn't almost drowned." She leaned up to kiss him lightly then tried to pull back, not wanting to make a spectacle and knowing if she stayed close any longer she would.

He responded to her kiss, his passion rising as the kiss continued, grasping her arms in firm, yet gentled hands. Finally, he broke the kiss and tucked her under his arm. His tone became playful, "I've kissed a dolphin." With a chuckle, he started to guide her up the next flight of steps, his limp pronounced with the added water weight, though his clothes were only wet where she had touched him or his hair had dripped.

She was breathless when they finally started back up the stairs, and it took a moment for her to notice his limp was worse. "I hope you aren't planning on dosing yourself to sleep," she murmured in an undertone, casting a meaningful glance up at him through her long lashes.

Genuine surprise crossed his face and he paused, looking down at her. "You cannot possibly mean you want..." He seemed flabbergasted.

She cut him off with another kiss, this time the one to let go of control. Careful of his ankle as she could be, she pressed herself against him, hands roaming where they would as he fell back against the support of the stairwell wall. When she finally leaned back she grinned up at him. "What do you think?

Aurum shook his head, looking more puzzled by the moment. "Fyera said the healers told her that a pregnant woman shouldn't... engage that way." His tone was uncertain, something not heard very often.

She blinked up at him. "I admit I'm not the most learned person on the planet," she said slowly, "but it never seemed to matter to the families living around us." She gave him a smirk. "Thin walls, rooms clustered together... I'm sure you get the idea."

"I get the idea that we will need to consult a healer," he frowned at her, but not his fierce expression. "And you aren't feeling sick? She was ever in the necessary... couldn't hold down food at all." He sighed. "She lost more weight than the healers liked." It must be a serious concern for him to have said he'd bring in a healer as he despised the profession as a rule.

She settled back down, her eyes going soft as she began to understand some things. "Aurum... that's not how things usually go," she said quietly, squeezing his hands. "I'll see any healer you want me to, I promise." She leaned into him, since the wall was already supporting his weight, arms tightening around him. "As some would put it I come from hardy stock. I'm going to be fine."

It took a very long time and much more soothing before Aurum seemed ready to believe that Ria's pregnancy would be any different from his first wife's. Finally, however, he seemed to begin to understand that each woman had a different pregnancy. Eventually, he pushed from the wall and finished the climb to their quarters in thoughtful silence, leaning heavily on her for support.

Continued in Chapter Nineteen


End file.
